


long story short

by snippy-tano (gusyoubeautifultropicalfish)



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, No Beta We Die Like Clones, Other, Romantic Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-14 23:27:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 39
Words: 63,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28678875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gusyoubeautifultropicalfish/pseuds/snippy-tano
Summary: A series of romantic/platonic one-shots centered around various clone troopers. Originally posted on tumblr.Slight edits. Will update tags as more are published. If there are warnings, they will be before every chapter.
Relationships: CC-2224 | Cody/Reader, CC-3636 | Wolffe/Reader, CT-21-0408 | CT-1409 | Echo/Reader, CT-27-5555 | ARC-5555 | Fives/Reader, CT-5597 | Jesse/Reader, CT-6116 | Kix/Reader, CT-7567 | Rex/Reader
Comments: 38
Kudos: 176





	1. A Little Help - Rex x Reader

Working as a mechanic in the GAR came with its fair share of challenges. 

You had joined up at the start of the war as a way to make a living. You’d taught yourself everything you know about mechanics, more out of a necessity to survive. Your parents were long gone and you had to survive somehow. Fixing ships and droids for what little credits you could earn became your life.

When the GAR put out a call for mechanics to serve with the newly minted clone army and help with repairs, you jumped at the chance. For once in your life, you wouldn’t have to worry about making your rent on your measly lower-level apartment on Coruscant or whether or not you’d have to skip another meal. You’d have a sense of security you had never really known.

Helping the war effort was a perk as well.

After a lot of testing and memorizing regulations, you were finally accepted and assigned to the 501st. Your natural talent with machines made you a perfect candidate for a battalion with a reputation for doing things unconventionally. You had fit right in, quickly raising through the ranks until you were one of the senior mechanics aboard the _Resolute._

What you hadn’t expected was to develop a friendship with Captain Rex. 

It had started innocently enough, him doing his “duty” to welcome you aboard when you first arrived. You must have made a good first impression, because he came to visit the shipping bay a few days after. And again after that. And again. And again.

Very quickly, he became your best friend. 

He was the one who would bring you caf first thing in the morning or sometimes forcibly drag you out from under a gunship when you had once again pulled another all nighter to get the ships repaired. Rex looked after you when you were too focused to look after yourself.

And you did the same for him.

He’d be buried under mountains of reports and you’d pick your way through them to force him into the mess or into his quarters to get some sleep. You’d be the one he’d seek out comfort in when he lost another brother. Those nights were arguably the hardest. Rex wasn’t someone who sought out physical comfort, although you suspected that was more due to lack of experience or even fear of disapproval. But you’d sit beside him, listen, talk to him if he needed it, and just be there for him on those nights. 

More than anything you wanted to hold him, but you weren’t sure if he was ready for that yet. You’d picked up on the clones’ desire for contact fairly quickly after joining the 501st. Some of them, like Fives and Jesse (bless them), had no aversion to touch and sometimes they’d wander to your section of the loading bay and seek out a hug. Others, like Rex and Echo, seemed to desperately want it, but hold themselves back. Echo had taken your hand the other day after a particularly rough day, which was progress. But Rex had yet to seek that out.

And you were fine with that. You’d be there whenever he was ready. 

But you couldn’t deny that as the days continued to tick on by, the more and more you wanted that with Rex. And not in a platonic way. 

You honestly couldn’t remember the first time you’d looked at Rex and had an overwhelming urge to just kiss him, but it was becoming more and more frequent. Sure, you’d dated before, but no one had ever made your knees weak with just a smile like Rex could. 

_And he didn’t even know it._

Someday you’d tell him. Hopefully.

Either way, you were presently underneath a gunship. It had come back from a mission and the pilot had complained of issues with the steering. The rest of the mechanics were busy with other projects, so you had offered to take a look. Hence the reason you were belly up underneath the ship, the only indication you were underneath the ship was your boots sticking out the side. 

The sounds of music and chatter filled the loading bay around you and you could hear men laughing. It brought a smile to your face that even despite the war going on, the men you worked with were able to find happiness.

“How’s it looking down there?” 

Anyone else wouldn’t be able to tell who was speaking to them since all of the troopers shared the same voice. But you had spent an unbelievable amount of time with all of them and could tell the difference, even if they were minuscule.

“Looking alright.” You called back, pulling your small flashlight out of your mouth so you could speak. “What’s up, Rex?”

“Just came to check on my favorite mechanic.” 

“You know just how to flatter a girl, Captain.” You said and then heard Rex clearing his throat. You stuck the flashlight back in your mouth to get some light on what you were doing before it clattered to the floor. You needed another set of hands.

“Hey Rex?”

“Yeah?”

“Can you give me a hand?” You said, picking up your flashlight and wiping it on your mechanics jumpsuit. 

You heard Rex grumbling, but moments later, he was shimmying under the gunship until he lay beside you. He had an annoyed look on his face, but you knew he was more than willing to help.

What did surprise you is Rex taking your outstretched hand the moment he settled in. 

He had taken off his gloves and his calloused hand clutching yours had you stop breathing. His face was bright red, but he didn’t let go. You forced yourself to resume breathing and smirked at him.

“You’re cute, but that’s not what I meant.” You said and he blinked owlishly at you.

“But I thought you said you needed my hand?” 

You were smiling broadly now. “No, I said I needed a hand. But I’ll hold yours if you want me to.”

Rex turned an even brighter shade of red and you decided to put him out of his misery and slipped your hand out of his. You replaced your hand with the flashlight.

“I need you to hold that light so it’s shining up here.” You said, motioning to where you had yanked off a panel and were doing all of your work. “And I might need your other hand to hold something.”

Rex nodded, seemingly happy that you’d moved past his little blunder. You’d bring it up later, but for now, you’d enjoy the ghosting of a feeling still present on your palm. 

As you worked, you explained what you were doing as a way to fill the space and keep Rex’s mind from exploding. You’d known him a long time and for as smart as he was, he had a tendency to overthink certain things. And you knew he’d be tearing himself a new one about what he’d misheard.

“-now if you could hold that wire for me while I reattach this socket.” You said and Rex took the wire from your fingertips and you quickly pushed in the last socket. 

You took the wire back and reattached it. 

“There. All done.” You brushed a strand of hair out of your face and turned to Rex. “Thanks for your help.”

“You’re welcome.” He said as he handed back the flashlight. 

You tucked it into a pocket on your jumpsuit before looking back at Rex. 

It was in this precise moment you realized just how close the two of you were. 

You really hadn’t thought much of it when he had originally crawled under. After all, you were working and he needed to be closer in order to help. But now that you were finished and he still had yet to pull away? Your whole body froze. 

Without really thinking about what kind of messages you’d be sending Rex, your eyes darted down to the mouth that you’d been dreaming about for months. When you realized what you were doing and how obvious it was, your cheeks burned and you forced your eyes back up. Only when you did, you realized he was also looking at your lips. 

“Rex.” Your voice came out much more breathy than you had intended, but it did the job because his gaze snapped up to meet your eyes. “I’m going to do something. I need you to tell me if you want me to stop.”

You knew that you should not even be entertaining this idea. While he was your best friend, he was also your superior officer and you would be breaking about a million regulations. But here, in the comfort of being hidden by a literal gunship, you were feeling braver than you ever had been. 

He nodded once and you pressed yourself closer to him. The soft fabric of your jumpsuit and the hard plastoid of his armor separated the two of you, but you could swear you could feel the heat of his skin through all of that. Your noses brushed together and Rex inhaled sharply.

“Tell me to stop.” You whispered and Rex shook his head, causing your noses to brush again.

“I can’t.” He spoke softer than you had ever heard him and his words sent another intense jolt through you. 

Rex’s eyes closed as you moved even closer and yours started to slip closed too. You hesitated again, hovering inches away. Rex seemed to have stopped breathing and even you were struggling to keep up. 

Tension washed over you and curled up in your stomach. You could feel your hands trembling where they clenched by your sides.

Finally you couldn’t take it anymore, pushing the rest of the way forward, closing the last of the distance between the two of you. Your mouth slanted against his and you both inhaled sharply at the contact. Your stomach flipped and your chest tightened. You relax your fist and clamp it down on Rex’s wrist, needing something to tether you. 

Before you were ready, you pulled back, lips tingling. You didn’t want to rush Rex, even if you had taken a big step (and he had seemed pretty enthusiastic about the idea). He released a breath, it brushing against your mouth. Rex’s golden eyes opened and fixed on you. 

You opened your mouth to say something when he surged forward again, silencing you. Your teeth knocked together, but you really couldn’t bring yourself to care. It was every bit of messy you had expected it to be. What surprised you however, was how _unbelievably_ good at it Rex was. For someone who had never kissed anyone else before, he was phenomenal. Either that or he was a quick learner.

Your stomach dropped to rest somewhere near your feet and you found yourself clawing to get yourself closer to him in such a tight space. This was by far not how you imagined your first kiss with Rex to go, but you definitely were not going to complain. 

You knew you needed to come up for air eventually, but you were going to wait until the last possible second. You didn’t want to pull away, not when his lips were moving like that against yours.

“You two better not be getting into trouble down there.” A new voice had you both jumping.

Because you’d spent nearly all your life under ships and heavy machinery, you had long since broken your instinct of trying to sit up when startled. Meaning that you had slapped your hand against the bottom of the gun ship and clenched your jaw.

Rex on the other hand, wasn’t as lucky.

His forehead hit the bottom of the ship and he fell back, clutching his head. 

“Fives!” You hissed, hearing the trooper snickering. “Rex was helping me because I needed another set of hands.”

“ _Oh really._ Well-”

“-Fives if you finish that statement I will make sure that every droid on this ship is programmed to make your life miserable.” You spit out.

“You wouldn’t dare.” He responded and you let out a sigh.

“Try me. Now go before the Captain can climb out and strangle you himself.” You said and seconds later heard rapid footsteps disappearing. 

You let out a breath and let your head hit the floor. Rex winced and you turned your head to see him still holding his head. There was a little wiggle room for you, so you carefully rose up on your elbow and hovered near him. 

“Let me see.” You said and he grunted and didn’t move. “Come on, Rex. Don’t be a shiny.”

You earned yourself a glare for that, but he listened and pulled back his hand. He had a bruise that was already starting to form just above his left eye brow. But it didn’t look bad.

“Good news is that it’s just a bruise so it should be gone in a day or two. The bad news is Fives is a terrible gossip.” You said with a soft smile and he groaned.

“S’not like they didn’t already think that.” Rex said, his voice raspier than you’d ever heard it before. You’d be lying if it didn’t make your stomach clench.

“Oh really?” You teased and he cracked open an eye before sighing. “And why did you never tell me that?”

He grumbled something, but you couldn’t make it out. 

“Rex?” You whispered in a sing-song voice. “Rex? Come on. You gotta tell me.”

He still refused. Without thinking too much about it, you bent down and kissed him again. Instantly he became pliant against you, his hand moving from clutching his forehead to weave into your messed up hair. You pulled back and Rex whined. He actually whined. 

You relaxed against his armored chest and couldn’t help the pure joy that swept through you when you felt his other arm wrap around your waist. 

“I didn’t tell you about it because-” His voice trailed off and you lifted your hand to brush against his cheek. “-because I wanted it to be real.”

You smiled. “Well, lucky for you, so did I.” You were quick to press another firm kiss against his mouth before sliding off of him. He whined for a second time, hands chasing you. 

For someone who for the longest time seemed so afraid to touch and be touched, he couldn’t seem to get enough of it.

“We should get out of here before anyone else gets suspicious.” You said and he nodded once.

He pulled himself out from under the ship as you quickly reattached the panel. Once you finished, you smoothed down your hair as best you could before climbing out as well. Rex offered you a hand up, which you gladly took. 

He held on for a fraction longer than usual, but eventually released your hand now that you were back where prying eyes might be watching.

“Thank you for your assistance, Captain.” You said and he smirked.

“Glad I could help.” Rex looked like he was glowing, and warmth filled you because you knew you’d given him that happiness. And you’d do anything to do it again. “I’ll let you get back to your work.”

Rex turned to walk away, but your voice stopped him. “When you get off shift, I’ve got a few inventory reports I could use some help with. If you’re willing.” 

He seemed to get the hint and smirked. “I’d be happy to help. I’ll see you in your quarters later.”

The very thought of him stopping by your quarters (which he’d done a million times before) after what had just happened caused your heart to skip a beat. He offered a quick wave before slipping on his bucket and striding away. 

Asking for Rex’s help had been innocent enough and you never could have predicted how it would turn out. But you’d be dead wrong to say that you didn’t enjoy the outcome.

And your dream of what it would be like to kiss Rex?

Didn’t even come close to the real thing. 

And you couldn’t wait to do it all over again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> visit me on tumblr @snippy-tano
> 
> requests are open!


	2. A Quiet Moment - Rex x Reader

It was quiet aboard the _Resolute._

It was late, so mostly everyone was catching some sleep before the next day shift started. You really should be sleeping, but your mind was too active and sleep was alluding you. Instead of laying in your bunk and staring at the ceiling, you had opted to get some work done. 

There was no one in your section of the hanger. A few troopers would pass by and offer you a greeting, but that only happened once every hour. You were working on a gunship that had taken some heavy fire and needed all of it’s systems checked before it could be cleared for another battle. The fighting had been quiet recently, but you knew that only meant things were going to pick up soon. And you wanted to make sure the men of the GAR would have the best ships they could.

An old radio you’d managed to put together with some spare parts sat on the edge of the gunship. Soft music trickled out and you found yourself humming along when you recognized the song. You had long since slipped out of the top of your work jumpsuit, instead tying the arms around your waist to give you more mobility. What you were working on wasn’t a messy job and no one was around to get you in trouble for breaking regulation. 

Or so you thought.

“You know, I could write you up for uniform violation.” A voice called from behind you. 

You turned to see Captain Rex walking towards you, his bucket tucked under his arm and a smirk on his face. You chuckled before turning back to the ship.

“Yeah well, you and I both know you won’t do that.”

“You’re right.” He said, walking closer. Rex set his bucket down on the floor of the gunship next to the small radio. He leaned against the side of the ship and watched as you continued to tinker.

“Can I help you with somethin’?” You asked with a quick glance up and him and he shook his head.

“No. I just came to see why you weren’t sleeping. You aren’t supposed to be on this shift.” Rex asked and you sighed.

“Couldn’t sleep. Figured I might as well get some work done in the meantime.”

Rex hummed. He knew the feeling. There have been many times you’d gotten a late night comm from one of his men who were worried about him when he refused to go to bed until all of his reports were done. You’d dragged him back to his quarters more times than you could count. 

“Finish up what you’re doing and I’ll walk you back to your quarters.” Rex told you and you briefly closed your eyes. 

You were starting to get tired and your eyes were starting to burn, but you really didn’t want to go to sleep yet. However, there was no use arguing with Rex. You’d pulled this card on him many times and it was only fair it worked on you as well.

You quickly buried yourself back into your work, stripping wires and replacing parts that had been damaged. Rex hovered nearby, switching between watching you and tidying up your workspace. He was such a mother hen sometimes. 

“There.” You said, standing up and brushing off your work jumpsuit. “All finished.”

“Great. How much more do you have to do?” He asked as he began helping you clean up the tools you were using. 

“The engine is running smoothly and the steering has been fixed. I just need to check the doors and a few of the navigation systems and it should be good to go.” You said as you and Rex dropped the last of your tools into your toolbox. 

“Which you will do tomorrow.” Rex insisted. “I don’t want to find you back here until your shift is scheduled to start.”

“Sir, yes sir.” You teased and he rolled his eyes. 

You crossed over to grab your small radio, but paused when you heard the song playing. A soft smile spread across your face as you thought of the first time you’d heard the song.

“Everything okay?” Rex asked and you shot a quick glance back at him. 

“Yeah, everything’s fine. My father taught me to dance with this song when I was a kid. He’d balance me on his toes and we’d spin around the apartment.” You looked back down at the radio, listening to the soft melody as Rex came closer. “It’s been a long time since I’ve heard it.”

“It’s a nice song.” He said and you turned to look at him. 

Then you had an idea. 

One that would probably be shot down and you’d never live to hear the end of it, but it felt right. No was around, it was the middle of the night, and you were with the one person you’d always wanted to be with. 

“Dance with me.” You said and Rex’s golden eyes snapped to you, wide in shock.

“Uh-what?” He stammered and you smiled at him, holding out your hand.

“Dance with me. Just for a minute. Then I’ll go to bed.”

His eyes flicked down your outstretched hand before meeting your gaze again. “I don’t know how.”

“That’s okay.” You said, taking his gloved hand in yours. “I’ll show you.”

You pulled him away from the gunship and towards the open space the two of you had just cleaned up. You gently grabbed his other arm and placed it on the small of your back. He seemed surprised by that, but kept it there at your encouraging smile.

“There are steps I can teach you if you want, or we can just sway back and forth.” You said, beginning to move slowly. Rex was pretty stiff, but he was following your lead. 

You’d hugged Rex plenty of times before, so close contact wasn’t strange between the two of you. But this somehow felt different. When you hugged, you both could pretend it was only for comfort and hide your faces (and true feelings) easily. But this was intimate in a way you hadn’t expected. A warm buzz had started deep in your chest and it sent tingles across your body. 

You were painfully aware of his grip on your hand and your waist. Despite the fact that he was wearing gloves, you could feel his hand burning against you. 

“You’re doing good.” You said and Rex looked up from where he was staring at his feet. He looked nervous, but you were being honest, he was getting the hang of it.

Rex apologized every time he accidentally stepped on your foot, but you only brushed it off. It wasn’t a big deal. In fact, you remember when your father had taught you to dance. Part of the reason he’d instructed you to stand on his toes was because you kept stepping on his feet. 

After the fifth time he’d stepped on one of your feet, Rex huffed in annoyance. 

“Really Rex, it’s alright. It happens.” You said and he looked up at you. He seemed to be searching your face for something and you felt your eyebrows furrow.

“Step on my feet.” He said and you blinked at him.

“What?”

“You can stand on my feet. That way I don’t keep stepping on you.” 

It was your turn to search his face. You wanted to make sure he was totally okay with it. If you did step onto his feet, it would mean the two of you would end up a lot closer. The thought brought a warmth to your cheeks.

“Are you sure?” 

“I’d really like to avoid stepping on your toes.”

You smiled up at Rex before looking down and stepping up onto his feet. Your arm moved from his shoulder to tighten around his neck and his arm automatically wrapped around you completely. 

You looked up, your nose bumping his. “Is this okay?” 

“Yeah. It’s good.” Rex breathed and you’re pretty sure your heart stopped beating. He let his forehead fall forward to rest against yours. Being this close had the butterflies in your stomach flutter in excitement and you forced yourself to commit this moment to memory.

Rex started to move again, gently rocking back and forth and you let your eyes slip closed. You were very quickly realizing that there was nowhere else you’d rather be than in Rex’s arms. You could only hope that he felt the same way.

It wouldn’t be the last time the two of you shared a quiet moment, tucked away from the horrors of battle and the war. In fact, every time either of you had time, you’d find yourself standing on Rex’s toes, breathing in the same air as him. The two of you would hold each other and let yourselves forget about the troubles of the war. 

It was never perfect, but to you, it was everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> visit me on tumblr @snippy-tano
> 
> requests are open!


	3. Three Squeezes - Cody x Reader

You were in the middle of a briefing when you got the comm.

At first, you ignored the comm, caulking it up to a friendly contact since you were due to be off shift soon. But after the third time your comm beeped, you knew something must have come up. 

You quickly excused yourself, earning a strange look from one of the lieutenants as you exited the room. As soon as the doors slinked shut behind you, you lifted the comm to your mouth.

“What? I’m in the middle of a briefing Cody.” You snapped, keeping your voice low.

“It’s Rex.” 

You blinked.

“Cody’s been hurt. You better get down here.”

Without even thinking, you started sprinting through the hallways. You ignored all of the strange looks and shouts of surprise when you shoved past troopers. All of your focus was on Cody and getting to him.

Kriff, what if he was really hurt? What happened? His mission was supposed to be a simple one. What had gone wrong? What if he was really hurt and -

You caught sight of the medbay and saw Captain Rex pacing in the hallway. 

“Rex-” Your words died on your tongue as you skidded to a halt. Rex’s face fell and you stumbled, leaning against the wall for support. 

“It’s not good.” Rex said as he approached you. Your heart clenched. “But he’ll pull through.”

“What happened?” You asked and Rex sighed heavily. 

“We were on a mission and our gunship went down. Cody was the only one injured.”

You let out a shaky breath and sagged further into the wall. Rex placed his hand on your shoulder.

“He’s going to be okay. He took a beating and he spent some time in a bacta tank. He had three broken ribs-”

You closed your eyes as Rex explained everything. With everything he described that had happened to Cody, you forced yourself to remember that he was going to be fine. Cody was going to make it. There was no reason for your heart to be in a million pieces on the floor.

“He asked for you.” 

Your gaze shot up to Rex’s. He was smiling sadly. 

“Right after we crashed and dragged him out for the wreckage. He kept asking about you. Kix said that even after they made it back to base, he only ever asked about you.”

You forced your eyes to close as tears burned your eyes. “Can I see him?”

“He’s still pretty groggy and might be asleep, but I cleared it with Kix before I commed you.” Rex said and you opened your eyes, squeezing his arm.

“Thank you Rex.” 

“You’re welcome. I’m being called for another mission, but I’ll stop by when I get back.”

“Be careful.”

Rex stalked away, looking more tired than you had ever seen him. But one trooper at a time. Your legs felt like lead, but after a few moments of deep breathing, you managed to place one foot in front of the other and walk towards the medbay door.

It slinked open and you took another slow breath before stepping inside. 

Almost instantly, you could smell the disinfectant. You’d had some bad memories in a medical ward like this and panic seized your chest. It was only the thought of Cody being alone that propelled you forward.

Kix materialized in front of you. “I’m assuming Rex gave you a rundown of his injuries and what happened.”

You nodded once, biting the inside of your cheek to keep from crying. Everything about you was ready to fracture under the stress. You weren’t sure you were ready to see Cody so injured, but the thought of being apart from him for even another moment caused your throat to tighten in fear.

“He’s still pretty out of it. But you’re welcome to stay here until he’s more lucid.” Kix said and you gave him a grateful look.

“Thank you for taking care of him Kix.”

“Always.” Kix said before making himself scarce. The medbay was busy, but the moment your eyes locked on the curtain surrounding Cody, it was like everything tunneled. Nothing else mattered. Only Cody. You took another deep breath before stepping past the curtains that allowed Cody some privacy.

You had thought you were prepared, but the sight of Cody looking so small and pale had your knees giving out completely. You dropped heavily into the chair next to his bed. He was asleep, much like Rex and Kix had said he might be. You didn’t know what was worse: him being asleep and without pain without the chance to see you, or him being awake and in pain but able to talk to you.

You reached a trembling hand forward and gripped his hand tightly. Your thumb dragged over his knuckles and you closed your eyes in a silent prayer. 

You squeezed his hand three times.

_I love you._

It was a code you’d developed not long after you started seeing each other as a way to tell the other how much you cared and that you were there, even if it wasn’t the right time. Considering both of your jobs, there was really no guarantee for either of you. By offering three squeezes, they always had a way to tell the other how much they loved the other. It became your lifeline more times than you could count.

You begged any being that might be listening, the Maker, kriff even the Force, to make sure Cody woke up and was back in your arms faster than you could say bantha.

You squeezed his hand three more times.

Your heart stopped when he squeezed three times back. 

You lifted your head and saw Cody awake and looking straight at you, a ghost of a smile dancing across his lips. Your chest heaved as a choked sob slipped out. Without thinking, you surged forward gripping his face between your hands as you peppered kisses across his entire face. 

Cody chuckled and it warmed you all the way down to your toes. You pulled back, letting your eyes scan his face. He reached up and tightly gripped your wrists. Your thumb brushed against his scar and you released a soft sigh.

“You really had me worried.” You breathed and it was his turn to sigh.

“I know. I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to worry you.” Cody said and you let out a soft chuckle.

“Only you would apologize to me for getting hurt.” You settled onto the small space on his bed, Cody keeping his hands tight around your wrists. His thumb skimmed against your pulse point and it sent shockwaves up your arms. “Are you okay?”

“I am now.” He said before lifting one of your hands and pressing a gentle kiss to your palm. Your heart thumped in your chest. You in turn tighten your grip on his own hands, leaning forward to kiss him firmly. He returned the kiss just as enthusiastically, his lips moving against yours in his familiar firm fashion, and you had to (reluctantly) pull back before he could get too excited and hurt himself. 

Cody actually pouted, not letting you sit back completely, instead keeping you near him. You laughed at him and leaned forward again, pressing your lips to his forehead. 

“You need to get some rest.” You said against his forehead before sitting back. Cody let his head fall back against his pillow. His whole body seemed to seep further into the bed and you could see him struggling to keep his eyes open.

“I’d rather look at you.”

You smiled. “Ever the charmer. Now scoot over a bit.” 

Cody shifted in the bed a bit and you curled in beside him. You were careful to not crush him or put too much pressure on his wounds, but he made it difficult when he only pulled you closer. You felt his body release its tension with every breath and within moments, his heart rate had settled to a gentle thump under your palm. 

You let yourself breathe, inhaling the scent that was uniquely Cody. You pressed another kiss to his shoulder before resting your head against his chest. 

He was fine.

Cody was back in your arms and it was like you could finally breathe. You didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, but the man you loved was alive and that was all that really mattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> visit me on tumblr @snippy-tano
> 
> requests are open!


	4. Hiccups - Fives x Reader - Part 1

It had been a long day in the med bay and you were looking forward to the end of your shift. 

You’d been stationed aboard the _Resolute_ for almost a year now and there definitely were some perks. Kix had quickly become a close friend to you. He had been a great mentor in the beginning when the learning curve was steep and despite his rigidness in the beginning, he’d grown on you. There was no one else you’d rather talk to after a rough day, after all, he understood better than anyone else.

By proxy, you’d gotten close to Jesse as well. The trooper would often show up unannounced and drag both you and Kix out of the med bay after he found out the pair of you hadn’t left in over 24 hours. His wit was razor sharp and he always told the best stories. 

Echo was also often a staple in the med bay as well. He liked learning regulations, so he’d often show up when you were working through reports to offer his assistance. It was because of him that you actually left the med bay on time on multiple occasions. It was during one of these late night sessions that Echo had mentioned his love for a particular kind of candy found in a shop on Coruscant. You had filed the information away for later and surprised Echo a few weeks later with more of that candy as a thank you. 

(You had connections and a friend who owed you a favor)

(The look on his face was worth the trouble)

Then there was Fives. 

He was an incorrigible flirt.

Fives had the tendency to burst into the med bay with a pick-up line rolling off his tongue, eyes shining brightly. He'd grin at you and it never failed to make your stomach flip. You rolled your eyes, but never meant it. Not really. Most of the time, you’d brush it off and keep working. But it was getting harder and harder to hide just how his cheesy lines made you feel. 

You hadn’t even realized you’d been developing a crush until Fives had taken a rather nasty fall on a mission and your heart had nearly stopped when he was carted into the med bay looking horrible.

He was loopy and acting more flirty than usual, but the fire in your gut and the fear in your heart refused to dim. It had been a hard hit and he was in rough shape. It hurt you deeply to see him so hurt. More than anything you wanted him to be back on his feet, sauntering around with the brightness you'd grown to care for.

It was when Fives was finally asleep that Kix had looked at you with a soft look in his eyes and asked if you liked him. You, of course, denied it.

Both of you knew you were lying. 

But Kix never did comment any more on it. Instead, he’d turned the other way and pointedly pretended not to notice you sinking into the seat by Fives’ bed and taking his calloused hand in yours. 

Ever since that moment, you’d done your best to avoid Fives.

Echo had read the regulations enough times to you for you to know that any kind of relationship was practically forbidden. You weren’t about to put Fives in danger because of a silly crush. His wellbeing meant more to you than something you could eventually convince yourself to get over, no matter how much it hurt.

So you dodged him. 

You’d find something for you to look busy when he would stroll into the med bay. Or you’d grab a box and push past him, mumbling about getting supplies. Or you’d claim not being hungry if he happened to catch you in the mess hall. Or a million other situations where you came across the trooper. 

In your hurry to get away, you often missed the look of disappointment that would splash across his face as he looked after your retreating back.

All things considered, you’d been doing pretty well in your avoidance of Fives over the last month. But no matter what you did to put distance between the two of you, the feeling in your gut that would burn when you saw his smirk failed to dim even the slightest amount.

Presently, you were alone in the med-bay. 

You had another hour or so left in your shift. Jesse had been by 20 minutes previously to drag Kix to the barracks to sleep (the medic had stayed almost two hours past the end of his shift) and had threatened to do the same to you if you stayed even a minute past your shift. 

You had only laughed and promised. 

Not long after they left, a bad case of hiccups started constricting your chest. You’d gotten them before loads of times and as a medic, knew the best ways to get rid of them.

Except nothing seemed to be working.

It was nearing 2 AM when the doors to the med-bay swished open. 

You hiccuped, turning as your eyes fixed on the trooper who had just walked in. Your heart thudded in your chest when you saw Fives smirk at you.

“What are you doing here at this hour, Fives?” You turned back to your datapad, tapping away at it and willing your body to _stop hiccuping for the love of-_

“I’m on duty and thought I’d stop by to see my favorite medic.” Fives said as he set down his bucket on the bed near him. You didn’t answer as he strode around the med bay, trying to look busy, but only succeeding in getting on your nerves.

Meanwhile, your hiccups were starting to cause your chest to burn. You just wanted them gone. Then maybe you could deal with Fives stalking around your med-bay and the swirling of butterflies fluttering in your stomach.

“Are you alright?” He asked, stepping ever so slightly closer to hover near your shoulder. 

You fought down those butterflies by his close proximity and nodded once before another hiccup had your chest convulsing. You winced immediately after, feeling the ache.

“I’m fine. It’s just these hiccups that won’t go away.”

“Did you try-” 

“I’ve tried everything Fives. They’ll go away eventually.” 

You felt bad about snapping, but you just needed to get him to leave. He was close enough that you could smell the standard soap the troops were given and it was enough to make you dizzy.

You felt Fives’ gaze shift to you as he smiled. “I might have an idea-”

“Fives, I don’t have time fo-”

You turned to tell him to leave you to your work, but instead found yourself pressed against the table behind you, Fives’ hands digging into your side, and his lips on yours. All at once it was like your entire body melted. Your knuckles turned white as you gripped the edge of the table behind you. Fives pressed himself closer and you couldn’t stop the actual moan that slipped past your lips only to be swallowed up by Fives. 

You’d dreamed of this moment many, many times. But nothing compared to the real thing. 

Fives’ mouth was insistent against yours and you were convinced you were dreaming.

He pulled back a fraction and you could feel his hot breath against your mouth as you struggled to breathe. 

“Oh.” You were starstruck and Fives’ looked more smug than you’d ever seen him before. 

He didn’t pull away from you for a few moments and you wondered why he hadn’t moved (not that you were complaining in the slightest). You almost asked why he wasn’t moving until it hit you.

Your hiccups were gone.

“W-well, it would seem your hiccups are gone. See you later.” Fives’ voice raised a few octaves and his cheeks reddened slightly. He shot you another look before he stepped away, grabbed his bucket, and strode out of the med bay without a backwards glance. 

You remained leaning against the table, blinking. 

Like in a trance, you brought your hand up to rest against your lips that were still tingling. Part of you tried to remember that you were forbidden from pursuing a relationship and this should definitely not happen again. But that part disappeared just as rapidly.

Maybe you’d have to get hiccups more often.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> visit me on tumblr @snippy-tano
> 
> requests are open!


	5. Hiccups - Fives x Reader - Part 2

Ever since that night in the med-bay, you’d taken avoiding Fives to a whole new level.

As it turns out, Fives was also actively avoiding you as well. You’d found out his rotation schedule and made sure to time your visits to the mess or your own shifts to contradict his. It still wasn’t perfect, but it worked for the most part. 

Occasionally, you still (inevitably) ran into Fives. 

When that happened, you’d blush profusely and stammer through a lame excuse for leaving, which was completely embarrassing. Fives also would look just as uncomfortable and that did make you feel a little bit better. 

You tried your best to forget about that night and for the most part, you did alright. But sometimes the feeling of kissing him would smack you upside the face and it would leave you breathless and flushed. You couldn’t count the number of times you’d wake up in the morning to your alarm, still feeling the press of that bench behind you and his tight grip on your waist. 

No matter what you did, you couldn’t forget it. And it only made your crush that much worse. 

It was really starting to annoy you. 

You had to get over it. And fast.

Kix, bless him, hadn’t made any comments when you started working longer shifts more often. He had thrown you a few concerned looks, but didn’t say anything. At least, he didn’t right away. You knew eventually he would cave out of concern for you. The whole situation wasn’t even that bad, you were just beyond conflicted and slightly embarrassed for your feelings that had only grown. But Kix didn’t know all of that, or at least he didn’t know what had happened.

“Alright, cut the bantha shit.” Kix cornered you after the last trooper left the medbay and you briefly considered throwing yourself through the glass divider near where you were standing. “What the kriff is going on?”

“Nothing is going on. I’ll get over it.” You tried to scurry away, but he was faster, blocking your path.

“We’ve worked together for a long time now and I like to consider you a friend. I know when something is bothering you. Keeping it bottled up isn’t going to make things better.” Kix said and you briefly hesitated. Him saying he considered you a friend was a great pick-me-up. One you desperately needed.

“I’m not keeping anything bottled up.” 

“Is it about Fives?” Kix said and you tensed, immediately regretting the reaction because it confirmed everything. “What happened?”

You let out a shaky breath. “I really don’t want to talk about it.”

“Tough. Spill.” Kix said, crossing his arms and you knew it was pointless. Neither of you were going anywhere until you talked to him. 

You clenched your jaw. “I had the hiccups, he came to visit, he helped me get rid of them. That’s it.”

You tried to brush past him, but Kix only grabbed your arm and hauled you back in front of him. He resumed his annoyed stance, raising his eyebrows. It made you want to punch something. 

“That’s most of the story, but not all of it.” Kix said. “The sooner you tell me, the sooner I’ll let you go-”

“-he kissed me alright!” You blurted and Kix blinked at you as you buried your face in your hands. “I had the hiccups, he kissed me, it surprised me, and he got rid of them. That’s what happened. Happy?”

“Have you talked to him since then?” 

“No. I haven’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because I can’t, okay?” You snapped, running a hand through your hair that had long since tumbled out of your carefully done bun. “I just need to get over this stupid crush and things can go back to normal.”

“I don’t think your crush is stupid.” Kix said softly and you took another forced breath through your nose. “And I don’t think Fives does either.”

“Well he has a funny way of showing it. Now can I go? Please?” 

Kix studied you for a moment before nodding. You grabbed your datapad and stormed out of the medbay, heading straight for your bunk. 

Talking to someone didn’t make you feel any better. In fact, it made you feel ten times worse. You had always thought that maybe, _just maybe_ , you’d have a shot with Fives. But the longer it went without either of you speaking and him clearly avoiding you, the more your glimmer of hope was dashed. 

It would never happen. 

You just had to convince your heart to accept it.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It wasn’t until another two days later before it was brought up again. 

You were alone in the med-bay again, Kix having been once again coaxed out by Jesse after he’d stayed way longer than he was scheduled. It wasn’t that late yet, but you were already exhausted. The few weeks had been long and hard and it showed no signs of getting even remotely better. 

More than anything you just wanted things to go back to normal.

Well, normal in that you could crush on Fives from afar and it would stay just that, a crush that would eventually fade. 

But fate seemed to have another plan.

The doors to the med-bay slid open behind you and you quickly put down the supplies you were cataloging and turned. 

“How can I he-” Your words died on your tongue when you saw Fives standing there, looking sheepish (which is a look you never expected). 

You stared at him, holding your breath, as he shifted nervously on his feet. The silence surrounding you grew deafening and it was like all the air in the room was being sucked out. You honestly weren’t sure how much more of it you could take.

“I uh-” Fives started, startling you. “-wanted to apologize for my actions. It wasn’t fair to you to surprise you like that. I should have asked or something. So I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay Fives. It did get rid of my hiccups.” You tried at humor, but it didn’t seem to land.

“It’s not okay.” Fives stepped closer, shaking his head. “I didn’t ask. And I’m sorry if I’ve made this weird or uncomfortable.”

“Things were strange before that, so it wasn’t your fault.” You clenched your hands at your sides.

“Right, well. I’m still sorry. And I won’t bother you again.” Fives turned to leave and panic seized in your chest.

“Wait!” You spoke before you knew what you were doing. Fives faced you, his brows furrowed. Your hands grew clammy and you could feel your heart stuttering in your chest. 

You wanted to tell him. _Kriff_ you wanted to. _Badly._

Fives’ golden eyes met yours and it was like everything made sense. He made everything clearer. And it was in that moment that you knew that you were both going to continue dancing around each other until the end of time unless one of you bucked up and did something about it.

You’d always told yourself that you needed to be bolder.

Fives’ eyes narrowed at you as you strode forward. “Uh - what are you doing?” 

You didn’t answer. Instead, you grabbed the front of his armor and yanked him down towards you, smashing your lips against his. He stuttered against you, gasping. You closed your eyes and held on tighter, letting yourself get lost in the feeling you’d been dreaming about for weeks. Vaguely, you heard his bucket hit the floor with a clang and the next second his hands wrapped around your waist. 

You forced yourself to pull away slightly, only daring to separate by a few centimeters. Fives’ eyes were still closed and he looked dazed in a way that you’d never seen before, but was quickly becoming something you wanted to see every single day. His fingers stuttered at your back, clenching and unclenching in your uniform.

“I’m sorry. I just needed to do that again.” You breathed, feeling his own breath hot against your mouth. “I won’t do it again, I-”

You were cut off when Fives surged forward again, slanting his mouth against your own. Warmth spread across your chest and then through the rest of your body. All the tension you'd been carrying around for weeks melted away instantly. All you cared about was the man in front of you, nothing else mattered in that moment. Your stomach flipped as his tongue teased the seam of your lips. Your toes curled in your worn shoes. 

Kriff you never wanted this to end.

Fives pulled back, resting his forehead against yours. “Please never stop doing that.” 

His words sent a jolt of electricity through you and you found yourself smiling stupidly. “As long as you promise to never stop.” 

He responded by grunting and pulling you even closer, if that was even possible. “Trust me, I don’t plan to.”

Your nose bumped against his and you found yourself inhaling deeply. You’d dreamed about this for so long and were still not convinced this was real. 

“I have to go finish my rotation, but I think we get off at the same time. I’ll meet you here after your shift and I can walk you to your quarters?” Fives sounded so hopeful and you couldn’t help but kiss him again to which he responded very enthusiastically.

“Sounds perfect.” 

Fives grinned before pressing another quick peck to your lips and swooping down to pick up his bucket from the ground. He gave your hand a squeeze before he turned to leave. Just before he walked out, he stopped to look back at you, a lopsided grin on his face.

“I think you should get the hiccups more often.” 

You laughed and Fives held back a moment to listen before he winked and left the medbay. 

The doors slid closed and you swayed slightly, grabbing onto one of the medical beds. Your lips tingled and a wave of familiarity swept over you as you gently reached up and touched your fingertips to your lips. 

_Thank the Maker for hiccups._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> visit me on tumblr @snippy-tano
> 
> requests are open!


	6. In Your Arms - Echo x Reader

You were absolutely dead on your feet.

The past few days had been unbearably long and excruciatingly dense. You worked as a communications officer aboard the _Resolute_ , specializing in decoding Separatist transmissions. Unfortunately for you, the Separatists had been busy, which meant you were busy. Your double shift ended up lasting a few extra hours, meaning you were seeing double by the time you were finally off.

You’d all but stumbled off the bridge, bumping into a poor trooper on the way. It was the middle of the night and you were due back on the bridge in a few hours. More than anything you wanted to sleep for days, but the war continued to drag on and you were dangerously close to burning out.

By some miracle, you made it to the barracks. The only problem was you were so tired you could not remember for the life of you which one was your room. Right now they all looked the same and you really didn’t have the mental capacity or energy to figure it out.

“(Y/N)?” A voice pulled you away from your internal panic and you turned to see a trooper watching you with a concerned look. You blinked away the bleariness from your eyes. 

“Echo?” 

The ARC trooper stepped closer, his bucket tucked safely under his arm. “What are you doing on this side of the barracks? Your room is on the other side of the ship.”

You swept your gaze around you. Slowly the pieces fell into place and you realized that Echo was definitely right. You were on the complete wrong side of the ship.

“Right.” You said, taking a deep breath. “I'll head there now.”

“Wait!” Echo’s voice stopped you from turning. He pulled his hand back in towards his body and rubbed the back of his neck. “I can walk you back if you’d like.”

Initially, your gut instinct was to decline. Not because you didn’t want to spend more time with Echo (it was opposite actually), but because you didn’t want to pull him from whatever it was he was doing. He had a job and he didn’t need to worry about you and your inability to find your own kriffing room. But then you remembered how you ended up in this situation in the first place and you found yourself agreeing. 

During your walk through the hallways that literally all looked the same, Echo and you were silent. The trooper kept casting looks over at you when he thought you weren’t looking and you were focusing all of your energy on not collapsing out of exhaustion. 

Finally, you made it back to your quarters. Your finger punched in your code only for it to be rejected twice because you kept hitting the wrong buttons. Echo stepped into your space, punching in your code, and the door sliding open seconds later. 

You squinted up at him. “Since when do you know my door code?” 

The top of Echo’s ears darkened. “You told me, remember?” 

You blinked. “Oh. Right.”

Without much more fanfare, you stepped into your dark room. Echo hovered by the door, shifting back and forth on his feet as he watched you struggle to kick off your shoes. 

“Are you okay?” 

Him asking those three words had your breath catching in your throat. You weren’t. Not in the slightest. You were stressed about all of the transmissions you’d been decoding and the ones that you had yet to get to. Command had been breathing down your neck for the last week and it felt like nothing you did, no matter how accurate and quick you did it, was enough. You knew it wasn’t their fault. The war was taking a toll on everyone. But you were close to your breaking point. You were way beyond exhausted and didn’t think you could handle another day. 

All at once, your eyes burned and you couldn’t breathe. You sunk onto the closest thing, which lucky for you happened to be your bunk. Echo was beside you moments later, the door closing and darkening the room. 

“Hey, hey, it’s okay.” He whispered, hovering near you but almost afraid to reach out. You could tell he wanted to. It was written all over his face and in his tense upper body.

And right now it was all you wanted. 

You surged forward towards him, wrapping your arms around his armored chest. He sputtered for a moment, but was quick to return the tight hug. 

You’re honestly not sure how long you sat there, your face buried in his shoulder as everything came crashing down at once. But Echo never complained. He only kept an arm tight around your back and another hand woven into your messy hair, rocking slightly back and forth. 

“I’m sorry.” You rasped, your voice sounding hoarse and scratchy. “I’m just exhausted.”

“It’s okay. You shouldn’t be ashamed. The war’s been tough on all of us.” Echo said and guilt twisted at your gut.

You shouldn’t complain. Not when troopers, just like Echo, were out there fighting and dying every single day. Your problems were nothing compared to theirs. 

“I know what you’re thinking and you need to stop downplaying your own feelings.” Echo cut through your internal debate and you blinked up at him. “The war has been long and hard on everyone, us clones included. You’ve had a long few days and have been letting everything build up. It happens to everyone and just because someone might have it worse doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be feeling what you are. Promise me you won’t let it build up like this again.”

You and Echo had always been close. 

From the moment you accidentally ran into him when you were late for your first shift aboard the _Resolute_ , you’d been practically inseparable. He’d been the one you’d have lunch with in the mess nearly every day. He was the one who walked you back to your quarters if your shifts happened to line up. You were there every time he left on a mission and every single time he came back. You dragged him out to 79’s when he needed to get out and stayed in with him when being around others was just too much.

You just didn’t realize how well he knew you. He’d known exactly what you were thinking even before you had finished the thought itself. No one had ever been able to do that before.

And as you stared up at him, something clicked. Something deep within your chest snapped into place and then everything made sense. A strange sense of calm washed over you and your problems floated away. Well, they were still there, but it was like they didn’t matter. They wouldn’t be able to drag you down, not any more.

All that mattered was him.

Without really thinking about what you were doing (or giving yourself time to talk yourself out of it), you tilted your chin up, connecting your lips to his. He seemed surprised for a moment, not reacting in any way. And for a brief moment, you panicked. You nearly pulled away, an apology dancing across your tongue when Echo sighed and pulled you closer. You could feel him relax against you and that was all it took for you to relax too. 

Before this moment, you’d never really thought about kissing Echo. 

Sure, you knew he was attractive and he never failed to make you laugh and he was always there for you and and and. You could go on for days. But you’d never made the connection between the twisting in your stomach when you saw him and the feelings that had so obviously developed. It was crystal clear now. And you couldn’t believe you didn’t see it before. 

Everything felt _right._

Echo pulled back, resting his forehead against yours. Your lips were tingling as you slowly opened your eyes, finding him already watching you. 

“Are you sure?” His voice was small and you could hear the doubt and _hope_ buried inside. 

“You’re right.” You said, lifting your hand to rest it against his cheek. “The war has been long and it’s taken a lot from the both of us. But with you, I see the light at the end of the tunnel. You make it all worth it.”

Echo’s eyes searched your face and you could see the light returning. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against yours again. The pace was lazy, but every bit electric. You weren’t sure if you’d ever get used to the feeling.

You ended up breaking the kiss when a wretched yawn escaped. It was embarrassing and you quickly tried to hide it. But Echo only laughed, pressing a kiss to your forehead. 

“You need to get some sleep.” He said and you whined. 

“Stay with me?” 

Echo watched you for a moment before standing up and beginning to take off his armor. You slipped out of your outer uniform and curled up in your bunk. 

You were nearly asleep when you felt Echo settle in beside you. Instinctively, you wrapped yourself around him and he did the same. Your breathing evened out and you could feel yourself drifting off to the rhythm of Echo’s hand tracing a path up and down your spine. 

“Sleep.” He breathed in your ear. “I’ve got you.” 

And in that moment, you knew that as long as you and Echo had each other, you’d be able to make it through the war.

_Together._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> visit me on tumble @snippy-tano
> 
> requests are open!


	7. The Fight - Wolffe x Reader

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warnings: very minor mention of blood & self-deprecation

You knew better than to get into a bar fight while on shore leave.

But that still didn’t stop you when someone made a comment about the men of the GAR that had you seeing red.

The boys of the 104th had invited you out with them on their short leave on Coruscant. Normally, it wasn’t your scene, but they were insistent and you could never say no to them. And there you were, smashed between Boost and Sinker in a booth that smelled suspiciously like Corellian Whiskey with an almost finished drink clasped between your hands. 

Boost was in the middle of an outrageous story about the time you nearly found yourself married into a royal family on a relief mission because of a simple translation error. You were horrified at the time, but now you could see the humor in it. The situation was endlessly ridiculous and funny. Like something out of one of those cheesy romantic holo-dramas Boost loved so much (but would never admit to anyone else but you).

“Want another drink?” Sinker basically shouted in your ear. You looked up at him before glancing at your empty glass. 

“Sure! I’ll come with you!” 

Sinker shoved his way out of the booth and you quickly followed. You kept your gaze fixed on the back of his armor as you weaved through the dense crowds of 79’s. It always seemed to be busy at the clone bar, but tonight it was packed. 

You finally made it to the bar beside Sinker and he ordered another round. You managed to toss your credits at the bartender first and earned some serious side-eye from the trooper beside you. You only stuck your tongue out at him in response. 

The bartender disappeared to get your order together and you took the time to take a few deep breaths. Crowds weren’t your thing, but you’d brave them any day if it meant spending more time with the troopers you’d come to love as family.

“What’s on your mind _vod’ika_?” Sinker asked over the hum of the crowd and the thumping of the music you didn’t recognize.

“Need I remind you that I am older than you.” You said with a smirk and Sinker only rolled his eyes.

“Just answer the question.”

“Nothing, just happy to be here with you boys.” Your gaze shifted back down to your clasped hands that rested on the sticky bar. You were dreading having to clean off your uniform once the night was over, but it was worth it.

“You wish Wolffe was here.” Sinker said and you felt your cheeks start to burn.

“I wish he was here the same way I want all of the 104th to be here.” You did your best to keep your face pointed away from Sinker, but he was more astute than you gave him credit for.

“No you don’t.” He said. “Not in that way.”

You chewed on your lip. 

He was right. Over the last year or so, you’d developed an _infatuation_ with the Commander. At first, it was mutual respect. Wolffe was a wonderful Commander. It was easy to see why the 104th had adopted the name "Wolfpack". You admired his brazen personality and boldness on the battlefield. Over time, your casual friendly "relationship" developed into a mutual fondness. But after a while, it felt like more than that. 

You hadn’t told anyone. All you’d done is push everything deep down in order to keep the professionalism you’d been known for. You weren’t going to let something like a silly crush stand in the way of your duties. There was a lot at stake in the war and you weren’t going to be the one to mess it up.

“It doesn’t matter. It will never happen.” You insisted and Sinker sighed.

Mercifully, you were saved from having to defend yourself further due to the bartender reappearing with your ordered drinks. You were quick to thank the bartender and snatch yours up, taking a large sip as you and Sinker began to work your way back to your booth. 

You were nearly there when a commotion near the entrance caught your attention above the sound of the music and chatter. Sinker had also noticed and was quick to change directions and follow you towards the noise.

What you found was a civilian man, who looked insanely drunk, screaming at the troopers in the bar. He hovered near the entrance, but was stumbling further into the bar with every step. 

You shoved your drink at Sinker before he could take another step and stalked towards the man. Without thinking, you placed yourself between the man and the rest of the troopers in the bar. 

The chatter of the bar had quieted down and you were well aware of the gazes that had locked onto you. Your gaze on the other hand was solely focused on the man. The few troopers that had tried to talk the man down had been blown off and were hovering nearby, watching you with concern and maybe a bit of pride? 

You knew this wasn’t going to be pretty.

“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” Over the years, you’d perfected a voice that meant no nonsense and no arguments. You didn’t use it often, but the troopers you’d worked with knew you well enough that if they heard it, they were in deep bantha fodder.

You’d hoped the man would get the message.

You’d realize later that it was a false hope.

“Why should I leave?” The man slurred, before aggressively pointing to the troopers around you. “They’re the ones that don’t belong.”

“These men are members of the GAR. They have every right to be here. Meanwhile, I must insist you leave the premises, sir.” You pushed again and he only glared at you.

Good. At least he was angry at you and not the men behind you.

“I am a citizen of the Republic. These men are property and they’ll never be anything else!” The man screamed before shoving your shoulder. You could hear the troopers around you inhale and all begin moving in your direction. 

The man had overstepped. Now they could do something.

You moved quicker.

You reacted without thinking, your vision darkening as anger surged through you.

Your fist collided with the side of his face and it was probably the most satisfying thing you’d ever done. He stumbled to the side and you held your ground, your jaw clenched. The man turned to look at you.

“I think it’s time you leave sir.” Your words left no room for argument, but he didn’t seem to get the memo.

The man lunged towards you, but due to his own inebriation, you were quicker. You grabbed a hold of his fist as it swung wide and twisted his arm behind him. He let out a cry as you put more pressure on his arm. With a shove, you started walking him back towards the entrance. 

“You are not welcome here. If you come back, I’ll make sure the Coruscant guard hears about your assault of the troopers inside this establishment.” You hissed and he let out another cry as you twisted his arm further. 

You blame what happened next on your own slight buzz from the drinks you’d already consumed. 

The man swung his free arm wildly. Unlucky for you, his elbow met its mark on the edge of your mouth, causing you to release him and stumble backwards. A pair of hands helped you back onto your feet and you turned to see Sinker looking down at you with a worried look on his face. 

You turned back to the man who had quickly been subdued by some troopers who had jumped into action. The man had calmed down a bit, but was still yelling profanities. The troopers were presently shoving him into a cab to get him away. 

Sinker appeared in front of you. “Are you alright?” 

You waved him off. “Yeah. I’m fine. I’ll feel better when that guy is long gone.”

Sinker’s gaze darkened as he followed your line of sight to the cab that was pulling away from 79’s. “Trust me, so will I.”

He turned back to you and his face softened. “Want to get out of here? You should probably clean out that cut.”

You gently pressed your fingers to the corner of your mouth with a slight wince. After pulling back your fingertips, you noticed a streak of red. 

“I’ll walk her back to the barracks.” A new voice pulled your attention and all the color drained from your face when you saw Wolffe standing not far from you.

_When did he get here?_

He was sans his bucket, but he still looked every bit intimidating as he normally did. In fact, if you had to bet on it, he was downright pissed.

“I really don’t mind-” Sinker started but Wolffe only shot him a glare. You sighed. It was better to get this over with.

“It’s fine Sinker. Go back to the boys. Just try not to get in any more trouble.” You said and Sinker nodded. He gave your shoulder a squeeze before disappearing into the sea of troopers.

Despite the adrenaline still pumping through your veins, you could feel the fight leaving you when Wolffe jerked his head towards the entrance and you followed. 

Wolffe’s pace was crisp and you followed a few steps behind him. Your energy was starting to crash and you wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and sleep for the next three days. It had been a long night. 

You blamed your exhaustion when you failed to notice Wolffe had stopped and you ran into his back. He grabbed your arm and pulled you into an alley, away from prying eyes.

Your heart rate skyrocketed when you saw his intense gaze.

Wolffe stepped closer to you. Your back hit the cool brick wall behind you, but you didn’t feel caged in. You never felt unsafe with him and this was no exception. You swallowed nervously when he stopped right in front of you, close enough that you could see his five o’clock shadow and feel his breath dancing across your forehead. 

He closed the very small gap between you and gently grasped your chin, tilting your head up to him. The moment the pad of his thumb brushed across the edge of your mouth, you were keenly aware that he had taken off his gloves at some point. His hand lifted and you noticed a small streak of red. 

Wolffe didn’t speak for a moment and your heart pounded in your chest. You were sure that he could hear it. He looked down, locking eyes with you, and you held your breath. 

His gaze was intense and pinned you in place. His shoulders were more tense than you had ever seen him and he looked moments away from snapping. You could feel the anger radiating off of him.

“Who did this to you?” Wolffe’s voice shook ever so slightly and the sound shot straight through you.

“It’s nothing.”

“(Y/N).” 

You closed your eyes and looked away from Wolffe. 

You weren’t ashamed of what had happened, you never would be. In fact, you were proud that you’d stood up for the men that meant so much to you. But you never intended for Wolffe to find out or get involved. 

He said your name again, his voice dropping and you inhaled sharply.

“There was a civilian at 79’s. He made a comment about clones being property. I punched him and tried to escort him out. He managed to land a hit before some troopers managed to subdue him.” Your voice was barely above a whisper. “It’s nothing you need to worry about.”

“We are property of the Republic.” Wolffe said and white hot anger flashed through you. Your eyes flew open and you looked up at the Commander.

“I don’t care what the contracts say. You are not property.” Your finger poked at his chest plate as you advanced on him, Wolffe taking a few surprised steps backwards. “You are people. And I’ll spend the rest of my life proving it to you, every other man in the GAR, and the people of this kriffing galaxy if I have to.”

You were out of breath, the very _idea_ that the men who were protecting the Republic were viewed as being less than or not human or _property_ charging you with an unbelievable amount of anger. You meant what you said. You’d spend your life proving their humanity to anyone who dared to think differently. They deserved that and so much more.

Wolffe’s eyes were fixed on you and you blinked in surprise when you realized you had backed him into the other side of the alleyway wall. You lifted your finger from his chest, your hand shaking slightly. 

“I’m sorry. I just need to get some rest. It’s been a long day.” You said, your head dropping. 

You were suddenly exhausted, all of your limbs feeling heavy and sluggish. It had been a long day. 

“Do you mean it?” Wolffe practically whispered and you lifted your head to see him watching you with so much hope in his eyes. 

It broke your heart.

You stepped closer to him, reaching up and taking his head between your hands. Wolffe’s eyes closed and his hands came up to grip your wrists. Without thinking about what exactly you were doing and how it was probably breaking about a million regulations, you stood up on your tiptoes and pressed your lips to Wolffe’s rough cheek. 

You could hear his sharp intake of breath as you hovered for a moment. Your heels hit the ground and you brushed your thumb over his cheekbone.

“With my whole being.” You spoke softly and Wolffe sighed. 

Your eyes scanned his face for a moment, letting yourself memorize the man standing in front of you. He rarely let his guard down and you were honored that he showed this side of himself to you. 

You moved to pull your hands away, but stopped when Wolffe’s own hands on your wrists tightened. He didn’t move or say anything, so you didn’t either. 

“Wolffe?” You could hear the busy city humming around you, but didn’t pay it any attention.

His eyes opened and fixed on you. 

He leaned forward and rested his forehead against yours. The tension you’d been carrying since you first planted yourself in front of that man melted away as you let your eyes close. 

“Thank you.” He breathed and you smiled softly.

“Anytime.” 

You let yourself enjoy the moment of being this close with Wolffe, knowing that you’d never forget it. The feeling of breathing the same air as him and feeling the warmth of his skin against your palms would plague your dreams for weeks to come, not that you were complaining.

In fact, you were content to stay there in that dark alley forever. Unfortunately for you, the yawn that escaped you would break the spell.

Wolffe chuckled lowly, the sound warming your insides. “Let’s get you back to the barracks.”

He released your wrists and you stepped back, keenly feeling the cold settle in deep within your bones. Together, you began to walk back towards the civilian barracks, which wasn’t far from the troop barracks.

“Thank you for walking me back.” You said, glancing over at Wolffe who was walking beside you. “You didn’t have to.”

“I wanted to.” He huffed. “Besides, I need to make sure you get back before I go take care of some business.”

You furrowed your eyebrows. 

Business? At this hour?

The sting of your lip and knuckles brought you back the present and you looked over at the Commander.

“You are not going looking for that guy.”

“I’m just going to talk to him.”

“Oh right, like how I talked to him?” You held up your bruised fist and Wolffe cracked a smile. You shook your head with a laugh, giving him a playful shove.

He stumbled a step away before falling back into step with you, his arm bumping into yours. The contact sent a jolt of electricity down your arm and you grasped onto the feeling with both hands, refusing to let go. 

Your legs nearly gave out when you felt Wolffe’s arm settle across your shoulders. Your stomach flipped and you swallowed nervously. You risked a glance up at him and he ignored you for a moment before meeting your eyes.

“You looked like you were going to fall over.” He said. “Wouldn’t want to gettin’ more hurt.”

At that, you rolled your eyes. “My hero.”

His arm tightened ever so slightly and your breath hitched. You couldn’t stop yourself from looking up at him again. His gaze shifted back down to you and you stopped breathing when his eyes flickered down before meeting your eyes again.

_Did he just-_

Wolffe cleared his throat and looked away. Your face burned when you realized he’d looked down at your mouth. Maybe the feelings you felt weren’t completely one sided. The very idea had your insides churning.

Another look up showed a faint pink dusting spreading across his cheeks. 

You bit your lip, looking down. 

Maybe you had a shot after all.

But until then, you’d enjoy the feeling of Wolffe’s arm around your shoulders. The hope that maybe something could come of your feelings towards the Commander swirled around in your chest and warmed your entire body. 

Maybe someday you’d know for sure, but one thing was for sure; you couldn’t wait to find out.


	8. Behind the Bandages - Kix x Reader

You should have known your plan to get some work completed would end up thwarted by a certain medic. In hindsight, there was honestly no other conceivable outcome.

“What are you doing here?” Mara, a civilian medic and a friend of yours, asked when you strode into the med-bay. “Aren’t you off-duty?”

You shrugged. “Technically yes. But I have some inventory reports to finish and Maker knows I won’t get the time when I’m on shift.”

She laughed brightly. “You have a point. Have fun back there, but if you aren’t done in two hours I’m kicking you out so you can actually enjoy your break.”

“You know me too well. Thank you.” You squeezed her shoulder as you breezed past, heading deeper and deeper into the med-bay until you were in the supply room.

The light flicked on when you entered, bathing the crowded shelves with a fluorescent light. With a sigh, you set down your datapad and slipped out of your worn jacket. You tossed it over a crate before heading over to another box, figuring you had to start somewhere.

You were halfway through cataloging the first box of bandages when the door slinked open behind you.

“Oh _come on_ , Mara. It’s barely been ten minutes!” You groaned, tossing the bandages in your hand aside. 

However, instead of a sarcastic remark, a pair of familiar arms snaked around your waist, pulling you back into plastoid armor. You had gasped in surprise, but melted at the touch. Your head fell back to thump softly against their chest.

“I’m busy Kix.” You said, patting his hand before picking up your datapad. You began to continue tapping away, Kix watching over your shoulder.

“Technically you’re off-duty and I am on a very short break.” Kix’s lips brushed against the side of your neck and fought down the urge to give in to him. 

“You do realize that if we’re caught we’ll be in big trouble right? Like way worse than being teased relentlessly?” You argued, but Kix paid no mind, continuing to drag his mouth across your exposed shoulder. He plucked the datapad from your hands and bit down when you protested, silencing you almost immediately.

“I know. It’s the whole point of this being a _secret_.” His low voice rumbling against your skin was doing things to your insides and if he kept going, you were definitely going to get nothing done.

“ _Kix._ ” You whined, but he only chuckled, voice humming.

“Wait.” He spoke suddenly, lifting his head. “Are these my blacks?” 

Your cheeks flushed. “Uhm yeah? I couldn’t find anything else, I didn’t think you’d mind.”

Kix grabbed your hips and spun you around, pressing himself even closer. “Do I mind? You look absolutely stunning in my blacks.”

He rested his forehead against yours. “You’re amazing.”

You smiled softly, giving in and wrapping your arms around his neck. “You’re pretty great too I guess.”

“You guess?” Kix teased, a flash of mischief blazing in his eyes. You barely had time to react before he spun, lifted you up, and set you down on another crate. 

You were eye level now as Kix invaded your space again. His hands dragged up your legs and hovered at the edge of your - _his_ \- shirt. The pads of his fingers brushed against bare skin and you inhaled sharply.

Kix only looked smug.

“Okay, but if I don’t get this inventory done, you’re going to do it.” You said and Kix grinned.

“Fine by me.” He said before swooping in and kissing you firmly. Butterflies exploded in your stomach as you were quick to pull yourself flush against him, ankles linking behind his back.

Every time Kix kissed you he left you breathless. You’re not entirely sure how he manages to do it, but it never fails. His tongue teases the seam of your lips and it’s in that moment all of your coherent thoughts go flying out of the airlock.

One of his hands splays against your back, dragging up your spine and setting all nerve-endings ablaze. The other coasts up your side, tracing every rib along the way. Your hands pull at his shoulders, nails dragging against his scalp that have him groaning.

You’re pretty sure things would have continued to progress until there was no way you could look anyone in the med-bay in the eye ever again, but the sounds of someone approaching the room dumped a metaphorical bucket of cold water over the two of you. 

Kix pulled back, eyes wide. You look one look at the door before you shoved him away. Your feet hit the ground moments later and you managed to scoop up your datapad before the door slinked open. 

Mara walked in, hesitating slightly when she caught sight of Kix. “Oh Kix, you’re actually who I was looking for. Captain Rex is here and wants to talk about an upcoming mission.”

Kix, who had practically thrown himself behind a shelf, pretending to count the tubs of bacta paste (but failing miserably at looking natural in your own opinion). He nodded quickly.

“Sure thing, I’m right behind you.” 

Mara’s eyes narrowed as she looked between the two of you. Her eyes darted somewhere else before she grinned slyly.

“You might want to be careful (Y/N), people might get the wrong idea when they see that bruise on your neck.”

Your blood ran cold as you slapped a hand over the side of your neck. Mara only offered a wink before stepping out.

Neither of you moved even after the door closed behind her. You turned your gaze over to Kix who was very pointedly looking anywhere but in your direction.

“ _Kix-_ ”

“Sorry. Don’t want to keep the Captain waiting.” He darted out from behind the shelf, narrowing avoiding your swipe at him. 

“I’m going to kill you!” You shouted after him, the doors once again closing behind him. You rested your hands on your hips, still trying to come down from the high of being with Kix and sort-of being caught.

You really were going to kill him. 

The door opened again and Kix ran in, kissed you one more time before disappearing once more. 

When you were finally, truly alone, you let out a short laugh. 

Kix was impossible sometimes. He drove you absolutely crazy and was always getting on your last nerve. He kicked a lot in his sleep, was a fan of ridiculously hot showers, and extremely territorial of the small holo-picture of you he kept in one of his pockets.

But you loved him with all your heart. 

And that would never change.

Maybe someday the two of you would get a chance at experiencing what it would be like to be together and in love without having to hide it. You didn’t know if or when that would happen. But for now, you were content with stolen moments and hidden glances. 

Kix was worth keeping a secret for.

[And if on the way out of the medbay you dumped an entire canteen of water over Kix’s head as payback, Mara made sure she turned the other way just in time. You’d have to thank her somehow and thought maybe introducing her to Jesse might be a good place to start.]


	9. Disconnected - Rex x Reader

You had lost contact with Rex in the middle of your comm. 

One second you were listening to him laugh about something stupid Fives and Echo had done and the next you were staring at nothing. Every attempt to call him back was useless, nothing went through.

You did your best not to worry, but it was nearly impossible.

Your mind went a million different directions and most of them weren’t good. You feared the worst, thinking that something terrible had happened and you had no idea. But there was nothing you could do except wait and hope.

It wasn’t until nearly a week later that you’d gotten a message from one of your friends aboard the _Resolute_ , a medic you’d gotten close to, that they were scheduled to be arriving on Coruscant the next morning. She couldn’t tell you much about what had happened, but she was able to assure you that Rex was fine.

Despite knowing he was okay, you still hardly slept. 

It had been nearly two months since you’d seen Rex in person and your nerves were all over the place. 

The two of you had never really talked about what your relationship should be categorized as. It just never really came up, as much as you wanted to know exactly how he felt. You were always the person he commed after bad missions or when something exciting happened. He would always visit you and stay in your apartment on the days he was granted leave on Coruscant. You had held him as he mourned the loss of his brothers more times than you could count. You’d always provided him a safe place to escape without asking questions. 

He had quickly become a staple in your life and you weren’t entirely sure how it happened. You’d met accidentally, bumping into him in the markets and awkwardly striking up a conversation that led to spending an entire night at Dex’s Diner just talking. You’d felt an instant connection with him, but the two of you had never talked about what you meant to each other. 

You were pretty sure you knew how he felt. You were about as sure as you were in your own feelings. 

But his life was uncertain enough. You didn’t need to add to his stress by asking him about something he didn’t want to talk about. 

So you kept quiet. 

You were content to just be _there_ for him. It may not be all you want, but you were happy to just be with him when you could. Out of everyone he’s ever met, he’d chosen to spend time with you. That was more than enough for you. Even a fraction of his time was worth it. He was never guaranteed a lot of time, meaning every second was valuable. And you were determined to make the most of the time you did get with him. 

However, out of all the times you’d spent with Rex when he was on Coruscant, you’d never once met him at the spaceport.

You were a part of Rex’s life that he kept to himself. It wasn’t that he was ashamed of you, not in the slightest. But he’d told you that he liked having a piece of himself that he only shared with you that no one knew about. He felt like it made him special, more human. You’d accepted that term pretty early on and had no reason not to respect it.

But considering how your last conversation was cut off and how you had no idea if he was dead or alive for one long grueling week, you couldn’t wait. 

You needed to see him.

_Right now._

It had taken some sweet talking. The guards who watched over the spaceport were less than enthused about you waiting to see someone without the proper credentials, but you’d given them some sweets you’d baked for this exact reason and they let you go with the promise that you’d stay within their eye line at all times. You agreed instantly.

And as you stood there, shifting back and forth on your feet and chewing on your nail, you wondered if this was a good idea. 

Rex had been pretty clear that he wanted to leave his duty as a soldier behind him when he met with you. Coming here to see him would be crossing into a world he’d kept apart from you. 

You had worked yourself up into a tizzy and were about to leave when you saw a sea of blue troopers exiting transport ships. Your breath caught in your throat and you found yourself frozen. Your eyes darted through the crowd, looking for a familiar pair of jaig eyes painted adoringly on a battle worn bucket. 

You’d almost given up when you saw him. 

He looked tired, more worse for wear than he ever had been before, but alive and here.

You were running before you could stop yourself.

“Rex!” His name tore from your throat and he instantly froze, turning to look at you running at him with wide eyes. 

You saw his mouth form your name, but you couldn’t hear him. Troopers around him were watching the scene with strange and shocked looks. Rex pushed past all of them. 

His bucket and bag hit the ground and you were in his arms moments later.

Rex stumbled back but didn’t falter. Your feet left the ground and you buried your face in the crease between his neck and shoulder. Relieved sobs shook your chest as you clutched Rex with everything you had. Rex shifted his head, burying his nose in your hair as he held you just as tightly.

For the first few blissful moments, you just held him. Relieved to have him alive and in your arms again. 

Then the words tumbled out.

“I was so worried. I tried comm-ing you after we lost connection but nothing was going through. I was so scared something had happened and that you were gone and there was nothing I could do. I’m so sorry I came here, but I had to see you-” You were rambling, frantically spilling everything that had been weighing on you for the last week.

“-(Y/N), (Y/N), it’s okay. I’m so glad you’re here.” He whispered and you clutched him tighter. Your fingertips pressed against the pulse point in his neck and you could feel his pulse thumping beneath his skin. With every beat, you found the tension leaving your body. 

“Our communication satellites went down and by the time they were fixed we were on a mission then were on our way back here. I am so sorry I didn’t comm you back.” Rex stammered, his hand smoothing down the back of your hair. 

“It’s okay. You’re here now.” You breathed and he squeezed you tighter. 

“Let’s get out of here. I have two days of leave and I love my brothers, but I’d rather leave before they get a chance to pester me or find a reason for me to stay.” 

Reluctantly, you let your feet settle back on the ground and unwound your arms from Rex’s neck. Rex quickly scooped up his bucket and bag while you pointedly avoided the burning curious gazes of his brothers. When he had his things, you turned to lead him out of there. 

You were nearly knocked over when you felt Rex’s hand grab yours, his finger intertwining with yours. You turned back to look at him with wide eyes. He smiled a smile he only ever showed you before he lifted your hand and pressed a gentle kiss to the back. Your heart leapt into your throat as he pulled you with him across the hanger, your hand still tingling at the memory of his lips. 

He’d never done that before. But it didn’t matter what it might or might not mean. 

There was a twinkle of a promise in his eyes, one that gave you all the hope in the world. You didn’t care if your relationship never progressed past this because this was enough. 

He was enough.

And he always would be.


	10. Stolen Time - Rex x Reader

With Rex, it was easy to fall into a routine.

Oftentimes, due to your nature as a communications officer, your shifts would often be opposite. When they did happen to match up, you both would be too busy doing your jobs to really get to spend much time together. Because of that, you both got used to spending what little free time you did have together. 

You’d also gotten into the habit very early on in your relationship of stealing a pair of Rex’s blacks to wear. You’re honestly not sure why. Sure they were comfortable, but the sleep clothes you’d been gifted by your family on the last holiday were the softest things you owned. And yet, they sat at the bottom of your dresser. 

Honestly you think it was because the blacks were his and they smelled like _him_. He’d teased you about it in the beginning, but eventually found a reason to like it. After the smell had faded, you’d traded him. He really liked that because by the time you gave him his blacks back, it smelled like your own shampoo and laundry soap. 

It was an arrangement both of you could appreciate.

You had just swapped blacks with Rex just a few days prior and every second you weren’t on duty or on standby, it’s what you were wearing. 

You had made yourself a cup of tea and were settled in to read some briefings to help catch up when Rex walked into your small quarters. 

You smiled at him over your mug. “Hey you.”

Rex grinned back, the door closing behind him. “You didn’t have to wait up for me.”

“I wanted to.” You shrugged and he chuckled softly to himself before beginning to unclip all of his armor. There were a lot of pieces, so it took some time, but Rex (like many of his brothers) had gotten good at getting it all off fairly quickly. 

When he was about halfway through, you set aside your tea and datapad before climbing to your feet and padding over to him. His back was to you and you stepped into his space, wrapping your arms around his waist. You could feel his soft laughter rumble through his chest where your head was buried between his shoulder blades.

“This is going to make removing my armor more difficult.” 

You only hummed, but didn’t make any motion to let go. “You’ll manage.”

He let out a breath, but continued to take off his armor. You kept your arms wrapped around him, but did give him a little room to remove his chest plate. While you waited, you dragged the pad of your finger down his spine, counting every bump along the way.

He huffed. “You’re impatient tonight.”

“I missed you.” 

Rex turned in your arms, wrapping his around you. “We saw each other in meetings all day today.”

“S’not the same.”

He smiled, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. “You’re right. It’s not.” 

Without warning, he bent down and picked you up, your feet leaving the ground in an instant. You couldn’t stop the surprised squeal that tumbled from your lips as you wound your arms around his neck.

“Rex!” 

“Relax.” He said as you both crumbled back onto your bunk. He was quick to yank your blanket over the both of you, essentially trapping you both.

“Wait, what about the briefings? My tea?” You said, peering over him at your still steaming mug sitting alone, waiting just for you. He dragged you back down, arms snaking around you and legs tangling together.

“Forget about ‘em.” 

Knowing there was no way you’d be able to concentrate anyways, you gave in, letting your breathing sync up. Rex seemed pretty content to just lay there with you and frankly you felt the same way. Your hand reached up and brushed against his hair. He sighed deeply and sunk further into the bed as you wove your fingers through the blonde strands.

“It’s getting long.” You said and he grunted.

“I need to cut it.” He mumbled against your shoulder and you smiled. 

“Oh I don’t know, I kind of like it.” You tugged on his hair gently and his head lifted so his eyes met yours. 

“Fine, two can play at that game.” Seconds later, his fingers dug into your side.

You let out a surprised laugh, instantly letting go. “Rex! Not fair!” 

He didn’t seem to care because he pressed harder, making your laughter increase. “Not until you yield.” He teased and you could feel his breath by your ear.

“I yield! I yield!” You gasped and he finally relented. You sunk into your bunk, trying to regain control of your breathing. Rex took that moment of relaxation on your part to roll over so he was hovering over you.

You met his cheeky gaze. “That was just plain cruel.”

“I thought it was funny.” 

You only rolled your eyes. It was sneaky, but it reminded you how much you loved being around him. He made it all worth it.

Rex seemed to have the same thoughts you were (or at least close to the same thoughts) because he leaned down the last of the distance between the two of you and kissed you softly. It was simultaneously intense and gentle at all once. He could have pressed himself harder or kept going at this lazy pace and either way you didn’t care. 

All that mattered was him.

He pulled back, resting his forehead against yours. “I love you.” 

You ran your hand through his hair. “I love you too Rex.” 

Rex flashed a brilliant smile at you before ducking his head down, burying his face in the seam between your bare shoulder and neck at the same time his fingers dug into your side again.

“ _Rex!_ ” You gasped, partly in response to his fingers finding the one spot on your side that made you laugh every time without fail and partly from the breathy laugh bubbling past his lips as they dragged against your shoulder.

Moments like this with Rex were rare.

Between the two of you, your jobs kept you busy. Which was what made moments like these special. Your lives were never promised, the two of you knew that better than most. Any moment you shared together felt like stolen time, something you’d eventually have to pay for in one way or another. And it’s because of that reason that you’d always cherish these quiet moments in time with the man you loved. 

It was what you both deserved.


	11. Prank War - Cody x Reader

Things had been far too quiet for your liking and that set you on edge. 

You had somehow found yourself in the middle of an intense prank war between you and Waxer and Boil. In your defense, they were the ones who started it. All you had to do was walk into one of their pranks and all bets were off. You’d grown up with siblings, so you didn’t take the prank lightly. Someone had to end the prank war, it might as well be you.

After a few back and forth pranks, Waxer and Boil had gone radio silent. You hadn’t seen them in days and that worried you. They were up to something and you knew it. You had spent the last few days looking over your shoulder, expecting a prank to literally hit you in the face. 

A voice called your name from behind you and you jumped in surprise, but relaxed when you saw who it was.

“Commander Cody, sorry you startled me.” 

Cody fell into step beside you as you headed towards the med-bay for your shift. His bucket was tucked under his arm and he slowed his pace to stay beside you.

“How many times do I have to remind you, it’s just Cody.” 

Your heart thudded in your chest and your palms felt clammy. “Right. Cody.”

“What has you on edge? If you don’t mind me asking.” Cody said and you sighed.

“I seem to have gotten myself into a prank war with Waxer and Boil and they’ve been avoiding me for a few days.” You figured being honest was a good route to go, especially with Cody.

“Ah, I can see how that would make anyone jumpy.” He said and you laughed lightly. 

“It’s been fun, but I know they’ve gone dark just to torture me.” You said before your eyes fixed on two _familiar_ troopers who had just rounded the corner. “Oh kriff.”

There was a door right next to you and you threw it open, grabbing Cody by the arm and dragging him in with you. The door shut behind the two of you and you clamped a hand over Cody’s mouth when he opened it to protest. You held your ear to the door and listened as the troopers passed by. 

It was definitely Waxer and Boil, but it didn’t look like they noticed you. 

You dropped your hand, feeling a slight blush creep up onto your face when you realized that you’d just pulled Marshal Commander Cody in a supply closet. _That_ was definitely going to be enough to fuel your dreams for weeks.

“Sorry. I saw Waxer and Boil and panicked.” You kept your voice low and Cody sighed.

“It’s alright. I know those two and that was probably a good call.” Cody said. “Have they gone?”

“I don’t hear them anymore. We should be clear.” You turned and hit the button beside the door. 

Nothing happened.

“Uh - that’s strange.” You said, hitting the button again. Again, nothing. “I think it’s locked.”

“Let me try.” Cody said, brushing past you. You did your best to give him room, but the supply closet was tiny. There was barely enough room for one person, let alone two (especially with one of them covered in armor). 

Your eyes adjusted to the dark and you watched as Cody tried to unlock the door, but after a huff from him, you figured he was unsuccessful. 

“You don’t happen to have a comm on you, do you?” Cody asked and you tapped your pocket. 

“Nope. It’s with my things in the med-bay. Don’t you?” 

“I do, but it stopped working this morning. I was on my way to get it looked at when I ran into you.” 

You let your eyes close and your head fall back against the cool wall. “This day just keeps getting better and better.”

“I can’t be _that_ awful.” Cody said and your eyes snapped open. It was dark, but you could make out the smirk on his face. You weren’t sure if you’d rather smack it off or kiss it off.

Before you could really think about that little thought, you heard voices outside. You lunged forward, bumping into Cody and sending him back against the wall. You banged on the door.

“Hey! We’re locked in! Let us out!”

You heard the footsteps stop just outside the door.

“Did you hear something Waxer?” 

All the blood drained from your face. 

“I swear to the Maker-”

“Nope. Didn’t hear anything, Boil.” 

_You were going to kill them._

“It’s a shame this hallway will be empty for the foreseeable future. It’d be a great place to prank (Y/N) and lock them in with their crush.” 

Your knees felt weak. You regretted literally every single thing that had led to this moment. Waxer and Boil were dead. The 212th was about to be down _two troopers._

“Boil! Waxer!” You hit your fist on the door again, but the two troopers only laughed as their footsteps receded until there was no sound of movement at all. You let out a groan and gently hit your head against the door. 

This was a disaster.

“So what exactly did you do to them?”

Your stomach clenched and you were keenly aware that Cody was much closer to you than he ever had been for such a prolonged period of time. And the two of you were locked in a closet for who knows how much longer. 

It was your dream and your nightmare all rolled up into one.

It hadn’t been your intention to tell Waxer and Boil about your _embarrassing crush_ on Commander Cody. They must have picked up on how you acted around him (because look at him) and confronted you about it on a trip to 79’s, long after you’d gotten a few drinks in you. But that was several months ago, long before you’d gotten involved in their prank war. You were shocked they’d remembered and were beyond angry. They really had written their own death sentence.

“I filled their pillows with shaving cream.” You moaned, wondering the probability of you spontaneously combusting. Because that was preferable at the moment.

“And before that?” 

“They added hair dye to my shampoo because I added hair removal to theirs.”

“Ah. That explains the pink hair and why both of them refused to be without their buckets.”

“Yeah.” You said, squeezing your eyes shut. This really was a nightmare. 

The pair of you fell silent for a moment and while everything was quiet, you willed your heart rate to just _chill for one kriffing second-_

“What Boil said about-” he cleared his throat “-a crush. What did he mean?”

This was it. The moment you died on the spot. 

“It was nothing. I shouldn’t have said anything to him, I was a little drunk and very lonely and it means nothing.” You kept your forehead pressed against the cool door, not having the courage to turn around. 

This was not how you wanted this to go. You were perfectly content with crushing on him from afar, never acting on or revealing your feelings. You had honestly hoped it would fade away with time, but you weren’t lucky in that regard. They’d only grown stronger. It was only a few weeks ago that you’d decided that you were going to hold all of your feelings tight against your chest and then one day, you’d die, never having admitted them. 

You told yourself it was easier that way. 

There was a war going on and Cody had much more pressing things to worry about. Even if he did have an inclining of feelings towards you (which you thought was extremely unlikely), you couldn’t afford to be a distraction in the midst of a war. You wouldn’t do that to him or his men. You couldn’t. You had accepted that a while ago, if only your heart had listened.

“(Y/N)-” Cody said, his hand coming to rest on your shoulder. Your whole body tensed and you bit down hard on your lip.

“-It’s fine. You don’t have to say it, I already know it’s not going to happen.” You said through clenched teeth. The closet was small, but you figured getting as far away from him was what was best for you. You shifted your body and took a step towards the wall opposite of where Cody was. 

You had expected his hand to fall from your shoulder so you could wallow in your own self pity until someone finally let you out. Your actions were predictable. So were Cody’s. 

Except this time they weren’t.

Instead of loosening, his hand on your shoulder tightened. In surprise, you turned to look at him only for him to push you. Your back hit the wall of the closet.

“Cody? What the hell ar-”

He kissed you. He actually _kissed you._

Your eyes flew open and you gasped, but Cody only pressed closer. His hands dug into your hips and you felt your stomach bottom out. His head tilted to the side and all coherent thoughts promptly flew out the window. Your eyes closed and your arms wrapped around his neck. He seemed to relax at that, groaning when your hand wove its way into his cropped hair.

It was an awkward angle, but the shivers that were shooting up your spine made it all worth it. Cody’s hands slid up, thumbing with the edge of your shirt while his tongue dragged across your bottom lip. Without having to think about it, your mouth opened to his and a whole new wave of pleasure spread through your chest. 

For someone you were pretty sure had never been with anyone else, Cody was a _remarkably good kisser._

He pulled only a fraction away from you and you were surprised at how out of breath you were. Your eyes fluttered open and you found that Cody was already watching you. He hadn’t moved far and you could feel his warm breath mixing with yours. 

“That was - nice.” You breathed and Cody laughed; he actually laughed more joyfully than you had ever heard him.

“I’m hoping it was more than just nice.”

“It was really nice.” 

Cody rolled his eyes. “Okay. I see how this is going to work.”

You blinked at him. “You mean you - like - uh.”

He responded by leaning forward and kissing you again, just as firmly as the first time. Much too soon, he pulled back. “Yes, that’s what it means. Now do you want to keep talking or do you want to take advantage of our current situation?”

Warmth pooled in your stomach. “Far be it from me to argue.” You said before dragging Cody’s mouth back down to yours, eliciting a moan from the Commander you wanted to hear over and over again. 

And if Waxer and Boil were a little horrified when they finally came to let you back out, well, that really wasn’t your fault was it?


	12. The Battle - Wolffe x Reader

_“Duck!”_ The trooper shouting across the battlefield was enough for you to dive for the ground. 

An explosion rocked the city around you, spraying you in dust and debris from the buildings. Small pebbles dug into the palms of your hands and your knees. You brushed away the hair that had fallen into your eyes and forced your aching legs to move again, scrambling back to your feet. Your ears rang, but you ignored it.

This particular campaign had been rough from the beginning. Which was why General Plo had requested you, a medic with his battalion, join them for this particular campaign. At first you had been excited for the chance to spend more time with the men you’d grown close to and to finally get out of the stuffy med-bay. 

But now that you were here? 

You really missed the intense bright lights and sickeningly sterile smells permeating off the walls. You’d give literally anything for a cup of water you could splash over your head if only to get rid of the dust and dirt that had turned your natural hair and skin into an unnatural color.

You ducked behind a wall, narrowly avoiding a blast. Even if you’d never really been in the field, you had been trained as a field medic. Your eyes swept across the streets that had become the battlefield and you found a trooper lying near the opposite side of the street.

Another figure jumped beside you, throwing their back against the wall currently acting as your hiding spot. You turned and spotted a familiar bucket.

“Fancy meeting you here Wolffe.”

The Commander only grunted in response before leaning around you and firing a few more shots.

“We’re pulling back!” He shouted over the continuing explosions and blaster fire. “Not far, just enough for us to regroup. We need better cover.”

“Then I’ll meet you there. First I need to go help that trooper.” You yelled and you could almost see Wolffe’s face darken.

“No, you’re coming now.”

“Not a chance.”

You turned to peer around the corner, but Wolffe roughly grabbed your arm and turned you to face him. 

“You’re coming with me now.” He growled and you clenched your jaw.

“You brought me here as a medic. My job is to help those who are injured. I am not leaving a brother behind!” You hissed back, heart thudding in your chest as you stared at the flecks of dust decorating his bucket. You’d never really been this close to him or his bucket before, but the thought didn’t freak you out as much as you had expected.

You wrenched your arm out of his grip, before turning and sprinting across the open battlefield.

Vaguely, you heard Wolffe shout something behind you, but you didn’t listen. Instead, you kept running, hoping nothing would hit you. Just before you reached the fallen trooper, you dropped to your knees, skidding the few remaining meters. Your knees burned as they dragged across the ground, but you ignored it. 

You ripped off the trooper’s bucket, keeping yourself low to the ground as you ripped open a stim and jabbed it into his neck. You pressed your fingers to his throat and felt a pulse. It was weak, but it was there. As the stim started to work, the trooper groaned and his head lolled to the side.

“Hey there trooper. You gotta stay with me alright? I’m going to get you out of here.” You kept your voice even to help keep him calm. His eyes squeezed shut before they slowly fluttered open as you worked to find his injury.

“Are you a star?” The trooper slurred and you let a ghost of a smile spread across your face.

“What’s your name trooper?” You asked as you found the location of his wound and peeled away the part of his armor that covered half of the blaster shot. 

“CT-48-”

“No, your name.” You insisted as you cut past his blacks and cleaned the wound as best you could. 

“-don’t have one.” He said and you risked a glance up at him. 

“Well-”

“-look out!” 

You didn’t even have time to duck this time. The trooper you were presently trying to heal grabbed onto his blaster, reached around you, and fired three times. Your ears were ringing, but after a quick rundown of your own body and the trooper, both of you were unharmed. Well, neither of you had any more injuries.

The trooper sunk back down against the ground and you quickly placed a bacta patch on his side. 

“Thank you.” You said and he let out a soft chuckle. 

“Thank _you._ ”

“Considering that you saved the both of us from getting blown to bits, I think the name Bits has a nice ring to it.” You said and his eyes opened and fixed on you. A smile spread across his face.

“I like that. I like it a lot.” He said and your heart swelled.

“Great. Now, we need to get out of here.” You said, glancing up to see the droid army moving even closer. Panic seized you, but you clamped it down just as quickly. Neither of you could afford for you to panic at the moment. You could freak out once you were both safe.

You wound your arm under the troopers arm and his back, helping him up. The pair of you had only shuffled a few meters before an explosion had you both pitching to the side.

“Come on Bits!” You shouted. “We need to move!” 

But Bits’ energy was failing and was becoming deadweight. You may be strong and able to lift heavy things as a medic, but carrying an unconscious trooper across an active battlefield scarred with debris was going to be nearly impossible. Dread began to settle deep within your bones.

You weren’t going to leave him.

You couldn’t.

But your options for getting the both of you out of there in one piece was dropping rapidly.

“Move!” A new voice called from behind you and you turned just in time to be shoved to the ground. Bits groaned next to you, but at least that told you he was still alive. The weight that had settled on top of you tensed as another explosion showered all of you in pebbles. 

The body moved and you climbed to your knees to see Wolffe bracing Bits across his shoulders in a standard carry. The Commander kicked his blaster to you.

“I hope you’re as good of a shot as you are a medic.” He said and you picked up the blaster.

“There are lots of things you don’t know about me Wolffe.” You responded and he stared at you for a moment longer than you thought was necessary, but it sent a jolt straight to your stomach anyway. 

Then Wolffe was moving, practically running through the streets, carrying a now completely unconscious Bits. You moved just as fast, only slowing to turn, drop to your knee, and fire as many shots as was needed at the advancing droids. 

Within minutes, you, Wolffe, and Bits were out of the active battle-zone and back behind your line. Wolffe passed off Bits to another medic and you tossed him his blaster before following.

You honestly have no idea how much time passed. 

Everything blurred together until you could no longer make sense of anything but what you were physically doing. You moved between every injured trooper and civilian you came across. Sometimes offering stims. Sometimes cleaning and bandaging wounds. Sometimes setting broken bones. Sometimes just holding someone’s hand. 

At the end of your rounds, you found yourself by Bits. He was going to be fine, just needed lots of rest and maybe a round in a bacta tank when you were back aboard your ship. He was still unconscious, but that was good. It allowed him time to heal on his own. 

You felt him before you saw him. 

The looming figure of Wolffe appeared behind you and he placed his hand on your shoulder. Your jaw tensed, but you fought hard for that to be your only reaction. You gave Bits’ arm one last squeeze before rising and following Wolffe through your makeshift camp and away from prying eyes. 

You seriously did not have the time nor energy for this.

Wolffe stopped walking near the supply crates. Faintly, you could hear the buzz of camp and the hum of soldiers, but it all sounded muffled. You really didn’t want to have this conversation until you’d at least showered and gotten some sleep, but you supposed Wolffe didn’t care in the slightest. 

You could tell by looking at his posture that he was pissed. 

“You shouldn’t have run into the middle of battle.” Wolffe’s voice was even, but you’d spent enough time with him to know that he was barely containing the rage that was surely bubbling up inside of him. 

Your own anger started to simmer.

“I am a medic. Not only that, I’m a trained field medic. It is my job to run into battle to care for fallen troopers. When it comes to the health and safety of the men of this battalion, I get to pull rank.” Your fists clenched at your sides as you spat through your teeth.

Wolffe spun to face you, eyes flashing. 

_Oh. He took off his bucket._

“What about your health and safety? You could have been killed.” Wolffe’s voice was now toeing a very thin line between control and chaos. You knew this argument was going to be much worse than any of your previous bickering.

“My health and safety comes second when others are hurt or in danger. I am trained to run into battle. I knew what I was getting into when I signed up. I also know how not to get injured in the field. You need to start trusting in me and in my abilities.” You took a step forward, chest growing tight.

“I trust you.” Wolffe hissed. “But I can’t be there to protect you every time you decide to throw yourself into danger.”

White hot anger flashed across your vision. “Oh, so you think I need protecting?”

“No, I-”

“-let me tell you something Commander Wolffe.” You took another step closer as Wolffe’s face fell. “I have been looking after myself far longer than I’ve known you. I don’t need anyone looking after me. I can take care of myself. More so, I can take care of the men in this battalion who are too busy fighting for the Republic to take care of themselves and that includes you.”

You stopped walking just ahead of Wolffe. “I run headfirst into danger because you always do it first, without thinking about what happens to you. All of you think you are disposable and that your lives are worth nothing. But I will keep running into battle to help you live because I do not believe that for one second.” Your voice trembled ever so slightly and you could feel your eyes start to burn. “You are an insufferable laserbrain. And until you get it through that buckethead of yours, I won’t stop. So go ahead, be mad at me. But I will not stop doing my kriffing job because someone gets twitchy.”

You stopped talking, slightly out of breath. Everything that you had been slowly building up for months and months finally spilled out all at once. You didn’t regret it. Not in the slightest. You only hoped Wolffe wouldn’t have you transferred, because he definitely does have that power.

Speaking off Wolffe, he was still staring at you, an unreadable expression on his face. It was one you had seen before, always appearing whenever you two argued like this. But something about the thick tension that filled the air made this look seem different than all the other times. 

Your hands were shaking slightly and you fought hard for them to stop. But the stress of the day and your exhaustion was making it difficult.

Which is probably why you didn’t see what happened next coming.

Before you could even blink, Wolffe lunged forward, grasping your head between his gloved hands and dragged you towards him. Your chest hit his at the same time his lips met yours. You gasped at the contact, but Wolffe only pressed down harder. Heat swelled within your chest and your stomach flipped. Despite Wolffe wearing his bucket throughout the whole battle, he tasted like dirt and his lips were chapped, but honestly, you really couldn’t bring yourself to care. 

Your hands blindly reached forward until you grabbed onto the edges of his chest plate. Wolffe’s hands threaded into your hair and you should have cared that your hair was a mess, but honestly? You didn't care in the slightest. Your head tilted against his at the same time his tongue grazed against your bottom lip. You didn’t even hesitate to open your mouth and groan into him. That only seemed to spur him further and he pulled you even tighter against him. 

Unfortunately, both of you eventually needed air and Wolffe pulled back. He stayed close enough that all you could see was him and you could feel his breath puffing against your mouth. You must have had a dazed look on your face, because Wolffe looked smug. 

“Next time you run into danger, at least wait to make sure I’m watching your six.” Wolffe’s voice was deeper than you’d ever heard it before and it sent a shiver coasting down your spine.

You hummed softly. “Are you sure the reason isn’t because you want to look at my six?” 

Wolffe only responded by swooping down with a growl and kissing you soundly again.

You didn’t need someone to protect you. You never did and you never would. But that didn’t mean that you wouldn’t like a partner. Someone who did watch your back and let you return the favor.

And if you were being honest, you didn’t mind watching his six either, especially when he had a _shebs_ like _that._


	13. Hands - Kix x Reader

In hindsight, punching a droid had been a remarkably stupid idea. 

But honestly, what else were you supposed to do with a broken blaster and droids practically overrunning you? _Ask them to stop?_

Unlikely.

You weren’t even supposed to be out there in the first place, but your temporary base had been ambushed and it was either pick up a blaster and start firing or get yourself killed. As an intelligence officer, you had training in combat and knew you could help your boys of the 212th so there was no hesitation on your part. 

Even when you punched that droid. It had been completely involuntary. One second your blaster was shot out of your hands and the next you were staring at a B-1 battle droid with nothing to defend yourself. So you swung.

You’d regretted it almost instantly.

You also knew that you’d broken a few bones by the way your hand absolutely _erupted_ in pain the instant you made contact. The droid had stumbled at least, saving you one shred of dignity. Through the hazy cloud of pain dusting across your eyes, you found the broken leg of another battle droid, completely independent. You’d closed your good hand around the droid’s leg, stood up, and swung, taking out the droid you’d just punched with one solid swing. 

After that, the rest of the battle was a blur. 

If you were being honest, you’d completely forgotten about your hand. Adrenaline was a funny thing in that regard. It wasn’t until after the fighting had ended and cleaning had commenced that you’d even remembered punching the droid. 

A few of the troopers who had been with you had made it through the battle and yet to stop gushing about how amazing it was that you’d not only punched a droid, but also used one of their legs as a weapon, taking out nearly twenty of them. 

It earned you a proper place among the men. And a nickname you’d wear with pride.

_Droid Crusher._

It had a nice ring to it.

The negative results of punching droids didn’t hit you until the 501st showed up to help fortify your position and clean up. Kix, probably the trooper you were closest to, had taken one look at you and practically dragged you into the med-tent, forcing you to sit down in a quiet corner, away from prying eyes.

“Kix, honestly, I’m _fine_.” You insisted, watching the medic as he flitted around the tent, gathering supplies and muttering to himself. 

“You punched a droid.” Kix said, turning back to you. He knelt down in front of you, gently picking up your bruised hand in his. “And you broke your hand.”

“So?” 

“ _So?_ ”

Uh oh. That was definitely not the thing to say.

“You broke your hand!”

“Not all of the bones! Just a few!”

Kix stopped placing the bacta on your hand and closed his eyes, letting out an annoyed sigh. He opened his eyes, slipping off his gloves and gently prodding at your hand. You pointedly ignored the sparks that were racing up your arm at the contact of his skin against yours. 

He’d never done that before.

It shouldn’t make your stomach flip the way it does.

“You shouldn’t punch droids.” Kix said, placing a few bacta patches against the places he’d found broken bones.

You let out a shaky breath as he began carefully wrapping your hand in a way that was beyond gentle. “Well, Cody outranks you and Rex, and he says it’s okay.”

Kix sighed again, letting a string of very _colorful_ curses slip out. You chewed on your lip, a smile threatening to spread across your face. He finished wrapping up your hand, setting aside the excess bandages on the cot beside you. 

Your heart skipped a beat when he looked up at you, still kneeling, but _so much closer_ than he ever had been before. Time seemed to freeze if only for a moment. The sounds of the med-tent and the troopers moving outside dulled to a muted roar and all you could hear was the loud _thumping_ of your heart in your chest. 

Kix was still holding your hand, his thumb brushing against the back as he burned a trail in its wake. He let out another sigh as his eyes searched your face. He looked back down at your hand before lifting it again. 

That’s when he surprised you.

Kix pressed a featherlight kiss to the back of your hand. It sent a jolt straight into your chest, your breath catching. He hovered for a moment, letting his breath dance across the back of your hand. 

It was beyond intoxicating. 

Then his eyes met yours again. You were frozen in place as he leaned forward. The closer he got, the louder the roaring in your ears became. You could feel his breath against your lips and found yourself unable to move. Your eyes slipped shut involuntarily. His lips brushed against yours and-

“ _Kriff!_ ” You cursed loudly, your one good hand coming to grasp at your upper arm Kix had just jabbed a stim into.

Kix, the smug bastard, had leaned back a bit, a smirk dancing on his lips. 

“You bantha shit! What was that for?” You demanded as he put a cap on the stim and set it beside you. You rubbed at your arm as it throbbed, but slowly began to lessen. 

“You needed a stim for the pain and I wanted to have a bit of payback.” He said and your mouth dropped open. “Maybe now you’ll think twice about punching droids.

You blinked, mouth opening and closing as you tried to figure out what to say in response as your mind clouded slightly at the introduction of pain meds into your system. Kix chuckled, standing up to clean up the space. 

“Wha-” You stammered, looking up to follow his path as he threw everything away. Kix glanced over his shoulder at you, still smirking. “How-”

Kix took pity on you and turned around, approaching you again. He braced his hands on the bed on either side of you, making all brain activity in your mind come to a screeching halt. His eyes searched your face again before he pushed forward, slotting his mouth against yours. 

You squeaked in surprise, but it was quickly swallowed by Kix as he kissed you with a skill you had no idea he had. Every single one of your nerve-endings exploded and you sighed against him.

Kix pulled away abruptly and you found yourself chasing after him. He placed his finger against your lips and you snapped your gaze to his. 

“Tell you what, you stop punching droids, and I’ll make sure to do that again.”

You blinked.

_Wait. What?_

Kix offered you a sly smirk before turning to head back into the main part of the med-tent. “Think about it.” 

You blinked a few more times. Your fingers reached up to gently touch against your lips that were still tingling. 

You _definitely_ wanted to do that again.

“Wait Kix! I’ll stop! I promise!” You jumped to your feet, running after him as his laughter bounced off the walls of the tent.

And you did stop punching droids. 

You still kept the nickname Droid Crusher, instead using a durasteel staff a few of the boys had taken from the armory instead of your fists and the discarded droid leg. 

A few troopers had asked why you stopped punching droids, but you never confessed. Saying only that you’d made a promise you intended to keep. In fact, you really didn’t have a desire to punch droids ever again. Not when you had an even better alternative.

And boy did Kix keep up his end of the bargain.


	14. Beneath the Stars - Rex x Jedi!Reader

It had been your fault. 

Everything had been going _exactly_ according to plan. All troops were moving forward without any issues, pressing against the droid army. But then it all fell apart at once. All because you didn’t see something coming. 

It had been your job to take a small squadron to take out the tactical droid that had been eluding GAR forces. It was a big responsibility, one that you weren’t sure you were ready for yet. But Master Kenobi had been insistent that you’d be fine. 

Since he had believed in you, you had believed in yourself.

But that belief was misplaced.

Most of it was a blur. One second you spotted the tactical droid and made a move to intercept. The next you were under heavy cannon fire. You had done the scouting, you hadn’t seen the cannon, you _missed_ it, and because you missed it, everyone but two members of your squadron were gone, the tactical droid having slipped away.

Your Master had tried to assure that it wasn’t your fault, but you weren’t sure you believed it.

Instead of sitting through a lecture you didn’t really have the headspace for, you had thrown up your shields, insisted you were fine, and excused yourself to meditate.

You were positive Master Kenobi didn’t believe you, but you needed time alone to sort everything out. 

Which is why you found yourself on the edge of your temporary base, sitting on the edge of a cliff, looking out at the foliage around you and up at the glistening stars and planets.

It was far enough from base that it was unlikely anyone would find you, but close enough for you to return in a hurry should that be needed. But frankly, you were hoping no one would need you any time soon. 

The air was crisp and another shiver tore it’s way through your body. You knew that you should have brought your cloak, but you had forgotten it. Or maybe you had left it on purpose. You really weren’t sure. 

You took a deep breath and held it for a few moments before releasing it, a small fog dancing in front of your face. 

It was peaceful out here, which was a stark contrast to the battlefield your mind currently was. All you could think about was what you could have done differently and how it was your fault those troopers were gone. 

If only you had been _quicker, smarter, faster, better-_

You heard something crack behind you and found yourself reaching out in the Force, your shields already clamping down tight. You recognized their Force signature immediately, some of the tension leaving your shoulders, but still keeping your shields up.

Captain Rex noisily sat down beside you, the sounds of his armor clanking together echoing through the still night. 

He didn’t say anything at first, just sat there with you looking up at the starry sky. 

“I’m not going to tell you it wasn’t your fault.” He started, a sharp pang stinging across your chest. “Because I know that even though it wasn’t your fault, you won’t believe it. Sometimes we all miss things. It happens. It doesn’t make us any less human.”

You bit down hard on your lip. “It was my fault. It’s because of me that they’re gone.”

Rex sighed. “Sometimes we make bad calls or miss things. I’ve done it, General Skywalker’s done it, so has your Master, and so has every other Jedi and Commander out there. We all have made decisions that were the wrong one. What matters is what we do after that bad call.”

“What do you expect me to do? Just move on? Forget that I cost men their lives?” Your eyes burned and you could feel your chest tightening. 

“Eventually yes. You will have to move past it at some point, but that doesn’t mean you should forget them. Learn from your mistake, vow that it won’t happen again, do your best to _keep_ that promise. If you do that, you’ll be a wonderful Jedi one day.” Rex said and you let your head fall down and away.

He was right. Like always. 

Everyone made mistakes, even Jedi. If you were going to be a Knight one day, it was important that you learn to acknowledge when you made a mistake, fix it if you can or learn from it and never let it happen again. 

You sniffed, brushing a hand under your eyes. “When did you get so wise?” 

Rex let out a laugh that echoed across the quiet night. You looked over at him, a soft smile playing across your lips. His eyes were shining in the moonlight. Warmth began to spread across your chest.

“I got old.”

“You do realize I’m older than you by like a decade.”

Rex waved his hand. “Experience-”

“-outranks everything, kriff I know Rex.” You finished and he looked over at you.

“I say that a lot don’t I?” He asked and you shoved his shoulder with your own.

“Far too much.” 

He hummed in response and you took the moment to take another deep breath, hold it, and release it. You watched the coolness of the air turn your warm breath into a fog and imagined your mistake. With every deep breath in, you acknowledged that you did mess up and you held on to all those feelings of inadequacy and failure. Then, as you released your breath, those feelings and insecurities went with it. 

After five breaths, you felt lighter than you had all day. You still had a long way to go, but you’d be better eventually. 

“Oh, I brought you this.” Rex said and you turned to him. You watched as he picked up your cloak that he must have brought with him. He shook it out and draped it over you, smoothing it down your shoulders and wrapping it around you. 

You touched the edge of your cloak before looking up. Your face warmed, but not because of the cloak. 

Rex had moved a little closer to you to place the cloak completely around your shoulders. In doing so, he was now sitting directly beside you, his arm around your shoulders, and his face much closer than it ever had been before. 

Both of you froze. Your stomach clenched in a way that was new and exciting, but also a little bit terrifying. This close to him, you could see the golden flecks in his eyes and feel his breath puffing against your nose. 

“I - uh - I’m sorry Commander.” Rex stammered, his head dropping down and away. He began to move his arm that had been wrapped around your shoulders, but your hand had clamped down on his before you realized what you were doing. 

He froze again, looking down at you. You also found yourself scrambling for words. 

“It’s alright Rex. It’ll be warmer like this.” You finally managed to say. Rex’s eyes searched your face, looking for some kind of doubt or hesitation from you. And despite a nagging feeling in the back of your head that this was a bad idea, he wasn’t going to find anything.

Rex cleared his throat and looked back up at the night sky, but didn’t try to pull his arm away again. 

The longer the two of you sat like that, the more relaxed you became. Rex’s presence in the Force has always been bright, despite his sometimes stoic exterior. He’d always been welcoming, most times going along with Master Skywalker’s ridiculous plans (reluctantly), and sparing jokes with you when he could. It was in times like these that you were reminded just how kind he was. How much he cared for his men, his general, and for you. 

And you were reminded how much you cared for him.

Sticking with your inability to form coherent thoughts or reasons not to, you let your head fall against his armored shoulder. He tensed for a moment, but relaxed almost as quickly, allowing his arm to tighten around your shoulders.

“Thank you Rex.”

“You’re welcome Comman-” He hesitated. “-(Y/N).”

A smile spread across your face before you could stop it. You moved yourself a little bit closer to him and turned your head back to the stars. 

Things would only continue to get harder. You’d make more mistakes and feel increasing pressure, but you didn’t have to face it alone. The nights were cold and reminded you of your failures, but with Rex, things didn’t seem so dark. 

With Rex, things were warm and bright. 

And that’s all you really needed.


	15. Hatred - Rex x Reader

From the very first time you met Captain Rex, you were positive that he hated you.

You’d tried to be kind, offering him a smile and your hand to shake when you met, but he only tensed up, offered a terse greeting, then left. Even General Skywalker had seemed surprised by his actions, trying to brush it off as abnormal and that it wouldn’t happen again.

Except it did happen again. 

And again. And again.

Over and over until you were completely and utterly sure that Rex hated you.

He always ducked out of the room if you entered, avoiding acknowledging or looking at you, never speaking more than ten words to you unless it was absolutely necessary, and so many other instances. You gave an honest effort to be kind to him and get to know him, but he dodged you at every turn. You honestly had no idea what you’d done to offend him or if he was simply so against you as a person, but whatever it was, he hated you for it.

And considering his constant cold shoulder, you were starting to feel the same way.

But you weren’t one to give up. 

If Rex hated you, fine. So be it. You couldn’t be everyone’s friend no matter how hard you tried. But you at least deserved to know why he hated you. 

With your newfound drive to at least know why Rex hated you so much, you’d recruited the help of Fives and Echo. Both of them, particularly Fives, seemed almost too excited to help you corner the Captain alone, but you didn’t read too much into it. You’d been complaining to them for months so they were probably tired of you talking about it and him.

Either way, they’d agreed to help.

The plan was relatively simple.

You’d be waiting in one of the weapons caches aboard the Resolute. Fives and Echo would steer Rex inside and lock the door behind him, giving you uninterrupted time to figure out _what the kriff was going on with him_. They’d make sure no one came inside and open the door after you gave the okay.

It wasn’t the most brilliantly elaborate plan, but you hoped it would work.

Presently, you were hiding behind crates of new blasters, wondering how you found yourself in this situation when you joined the GAR as a communications specialist. Of all the things you imagined doing, dealing with a C.O. who seemingly hated you for no reason was not one of them.

You heard voices approaching and held your breath. The door slinked open, light pooling on the ground near your feet.

“-Fives will you tell me what’s going on? Everything looks fine in here.” The sound of Rex’s voice filling the relatively small space had you forcing a breath into your lungs.

It was now or never.

You stepped out from behind the crates, crossed your arms, and stared at the back of a bucket-less Captain Rex. You caught the eyes of Fives and Echo who were blocking him from leaving by standing in the doorway. Fives grinned.

“We need to talk, Captain.” You said and Rex spun, eyes wide.

“Have fun you two!” Fives cooed before the door shut and clicked, indicating it had been locked.

Rex’s hands clenched into fists and he cursed under his breath. “What is there to talk about?”

“Oh I don’t know Rex.” You said, fury bubbling beneath your skin. “Maybe what I did to you?”

“What you-” Rex blinked, the lines on his face softening ever so slightly. “-what do you mean what you did to me?”

“You’re so dense.” You breathed, turning around. You ran a hand through your hair, not believing that he’s acting like he has no idea what you’re talking about. You spun to face him again, jabbing a finger in the air. “Why do you kriffing _hate_ me so much?”

“Hate you?” He said, eyes narrowed in your direction.

“Yes!” You yelled, throwing your hands in the air. “I don’t know what I did to offend you, but I’d like to know.”

“I don’t hate you.” Rex stated and for a half a second, you believed him. But then everything came rushing back.

“Well pardon me if I don’t believe you Rex!” You were practically shouting now, your hands trembling. “You always leave the room right after I enter without so much of a glance. You have barely said more than ten words to me in the entire time we’ve known each other. In fact, this is _by far_ the longest conversation we have ever had, despite my lack of trying. And so many other things.”

You turned away from him, running a hand down the side of your face as you let out a long breath. 

This wasn’t going like you had expected. Rex seemed to have no karking idea he was acting this way towards you and you honestly didn’t know whether to be relieved or even more angry.

“It’s fine if you don’t want to get to know me or be my friend. But we do still work together and I would at least like to get through a briefing without feeling like you can’t even stand to be in the room as me.” You fell silent at that point, wondering if this was a terrible idea. 

You liked Rex. From what Fives and Echo had described and what you had seen when he wasn’t aware you were there, he seemed like a really nice guy; someone you wanted to get to know. But all you ever got from him was a cold shoulder. And you were exhausted.

“You really think I hate you?” Rex finally spoke and your eyes flickered over to meet his. 

The expression on his face was one you hadn’t seen on him before. While you only ever seemed to see hard lines and firm expressions, this one was soft and open. You didn’t know what he was thinking, but his expression didn’t feel like he was plotting your demise. 

“What else am I supposed to think Rex?” You waved your hand. “I’m tired of feeling like you hate being around me.”

“I don’t hate you.” He insisted. In this moment you only saw red.

“And I don’t believe you!” You shouted and Rex’s eyes flashed. 

There it was. That intensity he’d always directed at you moments before he’d go back to ignoring your very existence. You could feel your blood beginning to boil again.

“Then I’ll prove it to you.” 

Your mind blanked. 

_What?_

You blinked at him, wondering what he could possibly be talking about now. How could he possibly prove to you that he didn’t hate you? It was glaringly obvious to you.

“You’ll prove-” You stammered. “-Rex what are you talking about?”

“You think I hate you right?” He said, continuing at your nod. “Then I’ll prove to you that I don’t.”

You had no clue where he was going with this. Every bit of this conversation was going in a direction that you never expected. Honestly, things were making less and less sense by the second.

But you supposed there wasn’t any harm in him proving he didn’t hate you. Even if you had no idea what that meant or what it would accomplish.

At least then you’d know _something._

You met his eyes, took a breath, and nodded. “Fine. Go ahead.”

Rex took a deep breath before turning and setting down his bucket on a crate. He turned back to you, fixing you again with a look that had you frozen in place. He stared at you for a moment before taking four large steps towards you.

Your arms uncrossed and you took half a step back, eyes furrowing. 

Before you could ask him what he was doing, he invaded your space. Your breath hitched in your throat as you abruptly found yourself _so much closer_ to Rex than you ever had been. 

That’s when your brain really stopped working. 

Because in the next second, Rex wound his fingers into your hair and smashed his mouth against your own. Your gasp of surprise was quickly swallowed by his lips _insistently_ moving, nudging yours into moving.

Your eyes slipped closed and you found yourself melting against him. His hands moved through your hair and slid down until he could tug you even closer to him. You found yourself grabbing onto the edges of his chest plate as your stomach dropped to the floor. 

_This was unexpected, but definitely not unwelcomed._

Far too soon for your liking, Rex pulled away. He didn’t stray far, resting his forehead against yours so you could still feel his breath puffing against your tingling lips. You took a deep breath of air before opening your eyes. 

Rex was already looking at you.

“I don’t hate you.” He whispered and it sent a jolt straight through you. “I never hated you. I just - I just didn’t know how to approach you. You’re absolutely perfect and I’m one of a million others who look exactly the same. I didn’t think I stood a chance, so I tried to stay away.”

You could feel every bit of anger and resentment that had been building up, curling around your chest loosening with every word that came out of his mouth. Now that you knew, every single one of those signs you had seen as hate transformed into the exact opposite. 

“I’m so kriffing stupid.” You breathed and confusion washed across his face. “I can’t believe I thought you hated me.”

Rex chuckled and it did wonderful things to your insides. “Definitely don’t hate you.”

You bit your lip before shifting your hands so you could gently hold the sides of his face, forcing him to look at you.

“You think that you’re just one of millions, but I think you’re one in a million.”

“Now that’s cheesy.” He said and you smiled.

“It is, but I believe it. You’re something special Rex and I’m sorry it took so long for me to see it.” You brushed your thumb under his eye and he let out a shaky breath, his own fingers digging into your sides. 

“I’m sorry I was so put-off-ish.” 

You grinned before removing one of your hands to hold it between the very minimal space between you. “Truce?”

A smile that you had never seen on Rex’s face before, but was very rapidly becoming your favorite thing in the entire galaxy, glistened in front of you. He carefully removed one hand from your back and shook your hand. 

“Truce.” 

After you shook on it, instead of letting go, Rex held on. His eyes scanned your face before dropping down. Your chest tightened as he released your hand, his trailing back down your side as he leaned forward ever so slightly and slowly. 

His mouth was hovering mere breaths away from yours when you finally couldn’t take it anymore. 

“Oh for kriff’s sake.” You breathed before surging upward, this time pressing your mouth against his.

He sighed deeply, his hands burning trails across your back as he clawed his way closer to you. His chest rumbled against yours when your own hands scratched against his scalp. You’d have to file _that_ away for later.

You could definitely get used to this. 

“Well Echo, it looks like they worked it out.” Fives’ voice from the door had you nearly jumping a foot in the air. 

Instinct had you pushing away, but to your surprise, Rex held on, not letting you push away from him. In fact, his hands only tightened their grip. 

You peered around Rex’s shoulder to see Fives and Echo standing in the doorway. 

Fives had a shit-eating grin on his face and didn’t look at all embarrassed or surprised at what he was seeing. Echo looked absolutely mortified and shot you a look of sympathy on behalf of his batch-brother.

Rex was well and truly angry this time. 

You were _absolutely_ sure that what you had thought was hatred and anger being directed at you definitely was not that. 

“Fives, you better start running.” Rex’s voice was low and you’d be lying to say it didn’t do things to you.

You heard Fives’ bucket hit the ground and rapid footsteps receding. Echo let out a quick apology before also disappearing. 

Rex pressed his forehead against yours. “I have to go kill Fives.”

You snorted. “If anything, you should be thanking him.”

“He interrupted. I’ll be right back. I promise.” Rex said before kissing you again, your toes curling in your shoes. 

He pulled away somewhat reluctantly, ignoring the whine of protest that slipped past your lips before you could stop it. Rex gave you one last look before turning around and storming out of the room.

“FIVES.” You heard him bellow just before the door shut behind him. 

You stumbled a few steps backwards, your back hitting the cool wall. You let yourself slide down to sit on the floor, pressing your hand across your burning cheeks.

That definitely did not go how you expected it. 

But you weren’t karking complaining. Not in the slightest.

You brushed your fingers against your still tingling lips and let out a laugh. You could definitely get used to that. And to think this all started because you mistook hate for something else.

After all, hatred is a strong emotion. But it’s always been said that it is remarkably similar to another emotion. And you were a huge fan of that second emotion. 

And you were definitely ready to explore it a little bit more when Rex finally made it back ten minutes later, eyes shining and without anyone following him. He smiled at you and you wondered how you ever thought that he hated you. When he kissed you again, you really had to wonder.

But you _definitely_ weren’t complaining.

You’d never complain again. Ever. 

As long as Rex kept looking at you and kissing you just like that, you’d never doubt his feelings again.


	16. Worn Couches - Rex x Reader

You were simultaneously exhausted, frustrated, and near your breaking point. 

Things had only continued to pile up and it was very quickly becoming too much. General Skywalker had been in a strange mood lately (if you had to guess it was because he’d spent so much time away from Senator Amidala, but you weren’t one to gossip) and it seemed as though nothing you did was good enough, for him or for anyone else. Your SO had continued to pile work on top of your already overflowing pile and no matter how much work you were able to accomplish in a day, your pile would have doubled by the next day. 

It’s because of this that you weren’t sleeping.

No matter how fatigued you became, no matter how much your eyes burned, no matter how much you wished you could just sleep to forget about the war, sleep continued to elude you. Most nights you’d lay in your bunk, staring at the durasteel ceiling unable to calm your brain down long enough to drift off. 

It had been a few days since you’d gotten some real sleep. 

And with the pile of reports on your desk, it didn’t seem like you’d be getting any sleep any time soon.

You’d given up on sleep, convinced it would never come. Part of you was okay with this. Your lack of sleep was a small price to pay if it meant you got more transmissions translated and into Republic knowledge. The more you translated the more up to date knowledge the men fighting had. You’d stay up for the rest of your life if it meant more of them had a shot at making it to the end of the war.

So you kept going, pushing yourself to your limit and beyond. 

It was bound to catch up to you eventually. You only hoped no one would be around to see it. 

As it turns out, you wouldn’t be so lucky.

The chronometer on the wall told you it was well into the middle of the night. Normally, you could hear the voices of troopers as they passed by your small office. But it was the night shift, so the number of people passing by decreased tenfold. It made it harder to concentrate. Or it could be because you couldn’t remember the last time you’d eaten. Honestly it could be anything at this point and you were too tired to figure it out.

The soft buzz of your door comm pulled your bleary eyes away from your datapad. You blinked twice, trying to get rid of the blurriness fuzzing the edge of your vision. 

“Come in.” You called, voice cracking slightly. 

The door whooshed open and you squinted at the bright light streaming inside. Captain Rex stepped inside, the door to your small office sliding shut behind him. 

“Officer.” He said, walking towards your cluttered desk. 

“Captain. How can I help you?” You asked, motioning for him to take a seat in one of the small chairs you’d managed to procure for your office when you’d been moved here. 

You used to just translate reports, but after a bad mission, you’d been tasked with helping pick up the slack and you now translated transmissions and imputed reports to the GAR database. It was easily work designed for more than one person, but everyone was making sacrifices. You’d do all you could for the GAR, even if it was starting to take a toll. 

“I have a few of my reports I was told to bring to you. I’m sorry it’s so late, but I just wrapped them up.” He said and you couldn’t stop the quick exhale that escaped your lips. 

More work. Just what you needed.

“Thank you Captain, I’ll get to it once I finish this.” You said, taking the flimsi from Rex and placing it on top of your impressive pile perched precariously on the edge of your desk. 

You turned back to your datapad, expecting Rex to get up and leave like he normally did when it was this late. The two of you were friendly. He was kind to you and often hung around your office after dropping off reports. You’d both fallen into an easy friendship that was casual. You wouldn’t mind getting to know him better, but considering his position and how busy you were, there just wasn’t time.

Except he didn’t budge from his chair. 

You looked back up at him to see him watching you with narrowed eyes. Your own eyes were burning from lack of sleep and your head was throbbing from staring at a datapad for hours on end, but you pushed it all down. You’d deal with it later. Preferably when the war was over.

“Can I help you?” You asked, clearing your throat and hiding your wince at how dry it was. You really should get some water. 

“Is everything okay?” Rex inquired and you swear the ship dropped out of hyperspace with the way your stomach lurched at the question. 

There was something about hearing the question when you were barely holding it together that caused everything to rush to the surface. Your jaw clenched and you could feel the corners of your eyes start to prickle with unshed tears. 

“I’m fine.” You choked out, forcing your gaze back down to your datapad. The words swam in front of you and you bit down hard on your lip as you fought the growing knot in your chest. 

You were so focused on not losing it in front of Rex that you didn’t even notice he’d gotten up and come around to your side of the desk. You felt his hand on your shoulder and turned to see him crouching beside your chair with a soft look on his face.

“What’s going on?” It was at that question that you felt every bit of your resolve crumble in a half a second. Everything you’d been pushing down and repressing for weeks burst to the surface.

It felt like you couldn’t breathe. 

In the next second, Rex had your hand pressed against his chest, instructing you to listen to his heartbeat and match his breathing. You struggled to do as he’d asked, your mind racing as your body fell to pieces. Through the fog settling deep inside you, you barely registered how it was strange that Rex was without his armor. You were pretty sure you’d never seen him without his armor.

After what felt like hours, you could feel your chest stop hitching with every inhale. Rex was still talking to you and you were finally able to decipher what he was saying. 

“-it’s okay, Just keep breathing. You’re alright. I’ve got you.” 

You should be embarrassed.

It wasn’t Rex’s job to comfort you simply because you couldn’t handle your own job. Now that the panic had loosened its grip on your heart, all you felt now was guilt.

“I’m sorry.” You croaked out, pulling your hand away from where Rex had it pressed to his chest. You grabbed your datapad and stood up. “I shouldn’t have let it get this badly and I shouldn’t have let it come out while I was still on duty.”

You had taken a step to head for your door, but Rex’s firm grip on your upper arm stopped you in your tracks. You could feel another knot tightening in your chest as your breath caught in your throat. 

“Permission to speak freely.” He asked, his voice low.

He didn’t need your permission. You weren’t his superior, in fact, you should be the one asking for his permission to speak freely. You didn’t really want to hear whatever he had to say because you weren’t sure you could handle it, but you’d nodded before you could stop yourself. 

“We haven’t really spoken on anything other than surface level information so forgive me if I’m overstepping. But you don’t have to keep all of this inside until it explodes. We’re friends and I’d like to think if I ever needed it, I could come to you.” Rex said and you felt your eyes close as emotion surged inside of you. “You never have to apologize to me. I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

You took a shaky breath, feeling your eyes start to burn with unshed tears again. Without so much as another word, Rex tugged on your arm, pulling you to your immensely old and small couch you’d shoved in the corner of your office for when you were too tired to trek back to your quarters. 

You practically collapsed onto the couch, your body sinking into the worn fabric. Rex settled in beside you moments later, the two of you practically taking up the entire thing. 

The couch itself brought warm memories. You’d found it not long after you’d gotten the office when you were on leave on Coruscant. You’d had a little too much to drink at 79’s with some of the 501st boys and stumbled across it in an alley on your back to the barracks. With the help of Fives and Echo, you’d managed to lug it back to the ship and into your office. Once it was settled into your already cramped office, all three of you had fallen down into the worn fabric and fallen asleep. 

Ever since then, that couch became a haven for others who needed a place to sleep that wasn’t the barracks. Fives and Echo had been constants over the last few months, the war weighing heavily on them. You had also spent most of your nights crashed on the ugly orange couch instead of in your own bunk. 

It was old, smelled a _little strange_ , and creaked loudly with every movement, but you wouldn’t trade it for anything. 

And when Rex wrapped his arm around you, tugging you into his side, you found yourself loving the couch even more. He ran a hand up and down your arm as he talked about anything and everything, asking you questions about your life and keeping your mind away from the stress of your job. 

He made it easy to forget.

The longer the two of you talked, the more heavy your eyelids became. The sound of Rex’s chest rumbling under your head as he talked and the incredibly steady beating of his heart was enough to pull you down into the sleep you’d been avoiding for so long. 

You drifted off feeling safer and more content than you had in weeks.

And that following morning, you woke up to find Rex had stayed, his arm curled around you and his head resting against yours. 

You still had a lot of things to work out and your pile of work hadn’t gotten any smaller, but things didn’t seem as crushing anymore. Seeing Rex smile at you the moment he woke up that following morning was enough.

When he finally left your office, heading to his own quarters to get ready for his own day, you found something had shifted between the two of you. He didn’t seem afraid to place a casual hand on your arm or shoulder or crack a lame joke. His eyes seemed brighter than you’d noticed before and the intensity of that look was always directed right at you. It never failed to have your insides swirling. Rex knew a side of you that no one had ever seen before and although you should be horrified, you only felt content, happy.

You didn’t know what this shift was or what it meant for your “relationship”, but you couldn’t wait to find out.


	17. Bravery - Rex x Reader

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: the reader watches someone get approached and receive unwanted attention. it’s not super intense (as I didn’t want it to be), but it’s still there and I’m covering my bases for anyone who might have this as a trigger

You weren’t sure why you had said yes to the 501st boys when they asked you to go out with them to 79’s, but they were so excited that you couldn’t say no.

And for the most part, you did have a great time. The bar was absolutely packed full of troopers meaning there was hardly enough room to walk through the bar. Thankfully, your small group had made it to the clone bar early enough that you’d managed to snag a booth before everyone else arrived. The seats were sticky and the table wasn’t nearly big enough to fit everyone, but you made do. The music was booming, making conversation difficult, but the drinks went down easy and the company made it all worth it.

However, as it got later, you found yourself itching to go back to the barracks. You’d had a long day and enjoyed your time out, but you were eager to get some sleep. 

Thankfully, Captain Rex had caught on to your plummeting mood and offered to walk you back. You accepted immediately, saying goodbye to the rest of the boys while Rex left to settle your tabs. 

You weaved your way through the crowds and finally emerged outside. Instantly, you let out a long breath. The flush on your skin from being in such a tight, hot space slowly faded the longer you stood out in the night. The air on Coruscant wasn’t the cleanest, not by far. But even the thick atmosphere felt like a million credits after being in the stuffy bar all night. 

You felt your eyes close as you took more deep breaths, your head clearing with every exhale.

“Hey beautiful, you going my way?” A voice pulled you out of your slight meditation and you opened your eyes to turn and face who had spoken.

You saw three human males approaching another woman standing not far from you. Judging by the state of their clothes and the slight wobble in their step, you guessed that they were totally trashed. You didn’t know what was going to happen, but dread started to fill you.

_Where are you Rex?_

“No, I’m not.” She said curtly, but they kept approaching her. You really hoped her firmness in her answer would be enough to deter him.

You really should have known he wouldn’t.

“Who are you with? A pretty thing like you shouldn’t be out here all alone.” He said and your jaw tensed. 

This was not good. This was _not good._

“I’m not alone. Now buzz off.” She replied and you heard the man chuckle, the sound washing over you and making you want to vomit.

“I don’t believe you.” The man insisted and all your personal alarm bells started blaring in your head. 

You had to do _something._ This was spiraling fast and was not going to end well for anyone.

The man made a motion to grab her arm and you saw red.

“HEY!” You screamed and everyone turned to face you. 

Almost instantly all the rage bubbling up inside you vanished and you suddenly regretted even speaking. Because instead of approaching the other woman, the man was heading straight for you.

“Do you know her?” He asked and you looked over at her. She looked terrified. 

“Uh well - I uh-”

“Then why the _kriff_ are you butting into where you’re not needed.” He demanded and your breathing quickened.

This was a bad idea. What were you _thinking??_

“I’m not I-”

The man stopped less than a foot away from you and you swear you stopped breathing, your eyes starting to prickle at the edges. You were a goner.

_Oh kriff oh kriff oh kriff oh kriff you were so dead-_

You panicked. You turned to run when a hand grabbed your arm, yanking you backwards. “Not so fast.” The man breathed and you could smell the alcohol on him. His grip on your arm was tight and your stomach twisted. 

“I suggest you let go of her if you want to keep that hand.” 

Your head spun so quickly that your vision blurred for a second. But when it cleared, you saw Captain Rex walking straight for you. His hands were clenched in fists at his sides, his shoulders were tight, and his eyes were fixed on the man holding your arm. You’d been around Rex long enough to know there was a slight difference between how Rex carried himself and how _Captain_ Rex moved.

This was absolutely without a doubt _Captain_ Rex.

“And I should listen to you, _clone?_ ” The man spit and you winced when he twisted your arm.

Rex’s eyes flicked to you for half a second and you saw his gaze soften. Then he looked back at the man and everything shifted again. 

You’re not entirely sure what happened next. 

One second Rex was in a standoff with the three men, one of them holding your arm. The next, you were on the ground and so were the men. You must have missed _something_ because there was no way all of that happened at once. 

But all of that faded away when you saw Rex appear in your field of vision with his hand outstretched to you. You didn’t even hesitate to take it. 

His hand curled around yours and he carefully pulled you to your feet, placing an arm under your elbow when you swayed slightly. Your gaze landed on the three men, all groaning on the ground. 

“What did you do?” You asked, turning to Rex. He dropped his eyes and cleared his throat. 

“Nothing special. Are you okay?”

Despite your pounding heart and shaking hands, you nodded. “Yeah. Yeah I’m fine.”

“Good. Let’s get you out of here.” He said, wrapping an arm around your shoulders to steer you away.

“Wait what about them? What about the other woman?” You gestured to the scene behind you and Rex shook his head. 

“The Coruscant Guard will take care of them. I’ve already commed them. And some of the boys from inside will watch her until the Guard gets here.”

Well, far be it for you to argue with that. 

The pair of you moved quickly through the streets of Coruscant. The air was growing colder and you found yourself curling further into yourself. Probably due to the adrenaline fading, but you didn’t notice the faint sting in your hand until you were a few blocks away from 79’s. 

You glanced down and saw a few scratches on your hand from when you fell. Seeing it made everything rush back to you at once and your heart started pounding. Rex noticed because he cursed under his breath and quickly guided you over to a vacant bench nearby. He had you sit down and knelt in front of you, digging through his belt for something. He ripped off his gloves and set them down beside you.

“Oh Maker I can’t believe that just happened.” You ran your non-injured hand through your hair. “Why did I do that? You know me, I never do things like that!”

Rex pulled out a small bacta patch and placed it on your hand, causing you to wince. Then he started wrapping it with a bandage.

“If you hadn’t said anything, who knows what would have happened. You did the right thing.” He said as he continued to wrap your hand.

You insisted, waving your hand in front of you. “But I don’t do confrontation. I can’t handle it. The last time I tried was when Jesse stole my datapad to be funny and I nearly puked I was so nervous.” 

“Well that may be the case, but you stood up for that woman.” Rex said as he finished wrapping up your hand. “I’d say that was pretty kriffing brave.” 

You gripped his hands still holding yours tighter, looking down at them. A new thought struck you. “You know, I think this is the first time I’ve ever touched your hands without gloves.”

And you were pretty sure you were right. You hardly ever saw Rex without his gloves and you never had any reason to even get close to him when that was the case. But you’d be lying if you said you didn’t like the feeling. His hands were warm and calloused, a stark difference to yours that were freezing and scar free. 

“Are you okay? Really?” Rex asked softly and you lifted your head to look at him. He was watching you with real concern in his eyes, scanning your face for any indication that things weren’t okay.

You were still shaken and a little anxious about what had happened, but Rex had your back and that made all the difference.

“I’m fine, really.” You met his golden eyes with your own and for once, didn’t look away. 

His eyes scanned your face and for the first time, you didn’t shy away. This was Rex. You trusted him completely. 

Rex’s head dropped and he took a breath. “You really scared me back there.” 

Your heart clenched in your chest. You untangled your hands from his, letting his hands drop onto your knee. Without hesitating, you reached up to hold the sides of his face. With a little nudge from you, he looked up and met your eyes again. 

“I’m okay. I’m here and fine because of you.” You said firmly, brushing your thumb under his eye. “Thank you for having my back Rex.”

You watched him take a deep breath and release it. Since you were still running on some adrenaline, you didn’t think twice about leaning forward and placing your forehead against his. Your heart jumped into your throat and you heard Rex inhale sharply. But despite everything, you let your eyes close. 

And for just a moment, you let yourself imagine what it would be like if this was normal for you. If you could do this with Rex everyday. Even though you hadn’t really thought about it before, you found yourself almost wishing it was reality.

Because it wasn’t your reality, you opened your eyes and moved to back up. What surprised you was one of Rex’s hands flying up to gently cup the back of your neck. The contact of his fingers tightening in your hair sent a shockwave down your spine. 

“Rex?” You breathed and he let out another breath before opening his eyes. 

You found yourself pinned in place by his intense gaze, but you didn’t mind one bit. Something started to curl in your stomach and the feeling should have been unpleasant, but it was exactly the opposite. 

“Can I?” His gaze flicked down and you realized with a start that he’d looked down at your lips. You stopped breathing. 

But nodded all the same. “Yes.”

The two of you were already close, your foreheads still pressed together, but Rex’s journey of tipping his head forward seemed to stretch an eternity. You felt his breath puff against the delicate skin of your mouth and it was incredibly intoxicating. 

That’s when he kissed you. 

It was slow at first. The both of you seemingly frozen at the entirely new contact between the two of you. You honestly could have stayed like this forever and been perfectly content. 

It was because of this that you sighed.

And it was because of _that_ sigh that Rex pushed himself even closer.

His lips against yours took on an intensity that you never expected, but quickly grew to crave. Rex pulled you closer to him, slotting himself between your knees as he moved his mouth against yours. It was unlike anything you had ever felt before and you quickly forgot about everything that had happened tonight except for the man in front of you. 

Your hands wove into his tightly cropped hair and he groaned against you. The sound had you inhaling sharply and chasing it just so you could hear it again. Rex’s arm snaked around your waist, catching a very small patch of skin that had you gasping. 

Unfortunately, you both needed air and had to part. Rex didn’t pull far away, his breath panting against your tingling lips. Your eyes flickered open to see his still closed. When his eyes finally opened, you caught sight of a dazed look that sent another shiver down your spine when you realized you had caused that.

“I’m pretty sure my bunkmate is going to be gone all night.” You said, cheeks flushing. “Nothing has to happen, I’m just not ready to let you go yet.” 

Rex’s arm tightened around you and he pressed a firm kiss to your forehead. “Lead the way. I’ve got your back.”

And you knew he always would have your back. Rex would never let you down and he’d never let you go. 

It was a long night full of confrontation and panic for you, but with Rex at your side, it didn’t seem all that scary any more. He’d always be there to chase away danger and you’d always be right beside him, acting braver because Rex would never let you fight alone.


	18. Undercover - Rex x Jedi!Reader

“Remind me again why I agreed to this?” You whispered under your breath, eyes scanning the large crowd of very wealthy locals. 

_“Come on, it can’t be that bad. Besides you look great.”_ Anakin responded cheerfully back and you fought the grimace that threatened to spread across your face. 

You had been sent undercover to a Separatist controlled planet. There had been some grumblings of important information being passed through this system, particularly this planet and this party. The planet was entirely Separatist controlled and therefore there wasn’t much news about the war or who they were fighting against, meaning it made sense when Captain Rex was volunteered to accompany you, as your husband.

You’d very nearly killed Anakin when he told you. 

You hummed, bringing your bright red drink to your mouth. “Remind me to punch you when I get back.”

 _“What? Why?”_ Anakin demanded and that did make you feel better.

“Because I can’t punch the Council.” 

Anakin grumbled in response, but didn’t argue with you. Assuming he was done teasing at least for a while, you turned to your companion who had yet to leave your side. 

It had taken a lot of convincing, but Rex had been a good sport in the end, wearing some ridiculous outfit picked out by a _certain_ Senator with a certain _connection_ to a _certain_ Jedi. In your eyes, it was completely obvious that Anakin and Padmé were in a relationship, but you were willing to ignore it, as long as they weren’t totally disgusting. 

Despite Rex’s own state of uncomfortableness of wearing something other than his armor or dress uniform, you had to admit that he looked good.

_Really good._

It was unfair really.

Before your mind could wander too far off mission, you down the rest of your drink. 

“I think some air might be good, don’t you agree?” You asked Rex, turning to him and placing your hand on his arm. His golden eyes stopped scanning the room and turned to you, his cheeks darkening ever so slightly.

He swallowed. “Yes, sounds like a great idea.” 

You both set your drinks on a nearby tray before skirting the edge of the ballroom towards the door. You kept your hand in the crook of Rex’s arm and once again found your mind wandering when you felt his muscles jump under the palm of your hand. 

You really needed to get yourself together. 

This was just a mission. You weren’t actually together (no matter how much you wanted to be). And this would all go away and be something you laugh about in a few months. 

It was all pretend. 

(Even if it wasn’t for you)

Together you moved through the hallways, passing other couples as they walked. You offered smiles to most of the women you passed, but could feel your social energy fading. 

“I didn’t say it earlier, but you look really nice.” Rex speaking yanked you firmly back to the present and you snapped your head up to face him. He continued looking forward, a ghost of a smile dancing across his lips.

“Oh.” You said (like an idiot). “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” 

You lapsed back into silence and you found yourself shifting your shoulders. The dress that Padmé had all but forced you into was gorgeous. It was remarkably comfortable and delicate in a way you had never really thought was possible. The color was absolutely brilliant and she had picked it because she thought it brought out your eyes. The jury was still out on that one. 

But despite how beautiful it was, you couldn’t help but feel like it didn’t belong.

You’d never shown this much skin in your entire life. And if you were being honest, you preferred your loose pants and Jedi robes. Mercifully, Padme hadn’t pressed you on the heels she had originally tried to put you in and you at least were given (reluctant) permission to wear your boots.

Thank the Maker.

 _“The intel should be in the corner office one floor above you. Now would be a great time to sneak up there to get it.”_ Anakin’s voice trickled back through the comms and you took a deep breath as your heart leapt into your throat.

You tightened your grip on Rex’s arm and leaned slightly closer. “We won’t be able to take the lift. Head for the stairs.” 

Rex placed his hand over yours and squeezed it before he began leading the two of you towards the stairs and away from the guarded lift. You did your best to ignore the burning of his skin against yours.

With a quick glance around and seeing no one, you opened the door and slipped inside, Rex following closely behind you. You bunched up the bottom of your dress and hurried up the stairs. The only sounds you could hear were the echoes of yours and Rex’s feet against the durasteel.

When you reached the door, you paused, reaching out in the Force to see if you could feel anyone in the hallway. Feeling nothing, you gave a quick nod to Rex who opened the door and slipped out. You followed immediately after.

Thankfully, there was no one in the hallway and you reached the corner office without any issues.

Which was of course when things started to get more difficult.

Rex pulled out the small piece of tech he’d been given and placed it on the keypad next to the office. After a few moments, it blinked green and the door clicked. You stepped inside with Rex right behind you.

The door shut behind you, bathing the both of you in darkness. You hesitated a moment to let your eyes adjust before stepping further into the office. Rex began his search at the lone desk in the office while you moved over to the wall. You dragged your hand along the cool wall, searching for a seam or something that would denote a hidden vault.

Sure enough, you snagged something. 

You pressed your hand and a panel swung away from the wall. You heard Rex stop rummaging around in the desk and approach you. 

“Anakin? Anakin can you hear me?” You whispered, but heard nothing.

You turned to Rex who was hovering over your shoulder, ignoring the clenching of your stomach at the close proximity. 

“I think comms are down.”

Rex nodded once. “This office must block them. We need to hurry.” 

You turned back to the panel, placing your palm against the durasteel. Your eyes slipped shut as you pressed the Force against the mechanics. After some nudging, you heard a click and the panel opened completely, revealing a small drive sitting inside.

You grabbed it, shut the door and the panel before turning to Rex.

“I’m surprised this important intel was in a mechanical safe.” He said and you shrugged.

“Tech can be hacked, simple mechanics are trickier.” You responded as you pulled back on a seam of your dress and tucked the drive into the small pocket that had been sewn there.

When your head lifted again, you saw Rex’s eyes snap to yours and his face darken. Once again, you forced yourself to ignore the buzz growing inside of your stomach.

You cleared your throat. “Let’s get out of here before guards check this hallway.”

Rex agreed, pointedly avoiding your gaze. The pair of you quickly slipped out of the office, making sure it locked behind you before hurrying back towards the stairwell.

 _“(Y/N)….out….guards….your….direction.”_ Anakin’s voice had you pausing. You turned to Rex. 

Comms were still acting fuzzy, but you’d heard enough to know that you were in trouble. 

Sure enough, at the opposite end of the hallway, you heard a door open and voices trickle through the hall. Without thinking, your hand latched onto Rex’s as you pulled him into the closest room behind you.

The door slipped shut and you both were once again bathed in darkness.

It was in this moment that you realized you’d chosen the smallest possible closet you could have. The cleaning supplies dug into your back as you struggled to find your footing again. You wobbled slightly and found your hands gripping Rex’s forearms without realizing it.

In the darkness, you heard him inhale sharply and froze. 

The closet was _impossibly_ small. Not big enough for one person, let alone two. 

You could feel Rex’s breath puffing against your forehead and fought back the shiver that threatened to trail down your spine. He was practically radiating heat and you had to clench your jaw to prevent yourself from just leaning the last few inches forward.

In the hallway, you could hear the guards approaching. Your hands clenched down tighter on Rex’s arms as you forced yourself to remain still and quiet. Rex’s fingers tightened on your elbows and you held your breath.

“-I’m telling you man, you need to move.” One guard said and the other sighed.

“I know, I know, but where else am I going to get rent that cheap?” The second guard whined.

You bit down on your lip. _Hard._

They were right outside.

 _“Rex…(Y/N)…respond…”_ Anakin’s voice broke through the comms again and your entire body tensed.

 _Please don’t hear it. Please don’t hear it._ You practically begged.

“Did you hear that?” The second guard asked and your stomach bottomed out.

Kriff.

“Yeah I think it came from there.”

Your mind raced into overtime. They were heading straight for the closet you and Rex were currently hiding in. It was only a matter of moments before you were both caught and would have no reason to be hiding in this closet.

Your eyes darted up to Rex. 

You had an idea.

An _incredibly_ stupid one.

But did you really have any other choice?

“I’m sorry.” You breathed and Rex turned to look at you, his mouth opened to respond to your apology.

But he never got the chance to.

You grabbed the sides of his head and yanked him down towards you, slotting your lips against his. Rex stumbled into you, forcing your back to hit the wall. You wove your hands into his shortly cropped hair and pulled him even closer. His lips seemed to stutter for a second, like he wasn’t sure what to do. Frankly, you really didn’t know either. But you nudged your head and let yourself get washed up in the feeling. 

You felt him groan against you seconds before his arms snaked around you, his hands _burning_ a trail across the exposed skin of your lower back. The sound shot straight through your chest and for a moment, you forgot why you’d kissed him in the first place. Getting lost in the feeling you’d been dreaming about for ages.

Then the door opened, bathing the both of you in bright light.

“ _Argh._ ” One guard groaned and the other hissed.

You forced yourself to pull back, Rex refusing to let you get far.

“Alright you two. Out of there. This isn’t the place for that.” The guard said and you carefully unwound your hands from their place in Rex’s hair. 

“Sorry sirs.” You gasped, unsure as to why you were so out of breath. 

You slipped past Rex, his hands trailing after you. You kept your eyes down as you passed the guards and they seemed more than fine with you avoiding them. Rex’s hands had released you as you stepped out, but his hand slid across you to grab your hand. 

“Yeah yeah yeah, just go back to the gala.” One guard waved you on, seemingly done with pulling people out of closets. Briefly, as you hurried down the hall towards the stairs with Rex following closely behind you, you wondered how many others those poor guards had caught.

You really didn’t want to think about it.

You pushed open the doors to the stairs, Rex allowing it to shut behind you. 

Reluctantly, your hand let go of Rex’s and you let yourself lean against the wall. The cool of the durasteel feeling wonderful against your bare, hot back. 

“I’m sorry.” You breathed, feeling emotion well up in your chest. “They were coming and I panicked.”

“It’s alright.” Rex whispered and you felt your eyes prickle.

“No, it’s not alright. I didn’t ask permission and I shouldn’t have done that. You deserve so much better than that.” You quickly swallowed tears threatening to spill from your eyes and took a shaky breath. “We should get moving. Get that intel back to Skywalker.”

You turned to head down the stairs only for Rex to catch your hand. 

Sparks flew up your arm and you bit down on your lip again. You didn’t want to have this conversation with him, not now, probably not ever.

As much as that kiss had been to create a cover and give you a reason to be on that level, more than anything you wanted it to be real. You wanted to experience all of that and more with Rex.

But you were a Jedi. Forbidden from any kind of attachment. Anakin may have forgone that rule, but Rex deserved more than hiding a relationship.

And Rex was technically under your command, or at least a subordinate. He could be decommissioned for this. His life wasn’t worth it. You’d rather observe and love from afar than risk his life. Your feelings weren’t worth it.

Rex’s fingers intertwined with yours and you forced a shaky breath into your lungs.

“You have no idea-” Rex began, pausing for a moment. “-how long I’ve been dreaming of that moment.”

Your breath hitched in your throat as he continued. “I know you did it to keep our cover, but I need to tell you that it wasn’t just a cover for me. I kissed you back because I wanted to, not because _I_ needed to.”

“I can’t let you risk everything for me, Rex.” You breathed, closing your eyes tight when you felt his grip tighten as he moved closer. 

“And if I wanted to?” 

This time you couldn’t fight the tear that escaped.

Kriff, more than _anything_ you wanted to say yes. This war had already taken so much from the both of you. The pair of you deserved to have some kind of happiness, even if you found that happiness in each other.

Every part of you was begging you to say yes.

But there was a tiny piece of your brain still insisting it was forbidden.

You felt a hand on your face and your eyes snapped open. Rex had walked around you, standing two steps down on the stairs so you were eye level with him. He was smiling softly at you, his eyes nothing but warm and welcoming.

You opened your mouth to tell him you couldn’t, wouldn’t put him in danger. But nothing came out. 

His eyes flicked down to your lips that were still tingling from before. “May I?”

Your entire body was vibrating. Everything begging you to say yes, while you held onto your measly self-control and held back. But despite this, you nodded once.

Rex leaned forward and your heart stopped. Your eyes closed on their own accord. You could feel his breath puffing against yours, brushing against the already sensitive skin there. 

Then he kissed you.

And your resolve crumbled.

All of your nerve-endings exploded at the contact. Your fingers gripped and tightened against his tunic as his hands wove into your loose hair. While the first time you’d kissed was intense and heavy, this one was the exact opposite. Both of them made your knees weak.

Much too soon, Rex pulled away, resting his forehead against yours. 

“I’m in if you’re in.” He said and your chest tightened.

He was giving you an out. A chance to walk away with no hard feelings.

And as much as you knew you should, for both of your sakes.

You couldn’t.

“I’m in.” 

The smile that spread across his face was worth it.

His lips had just brushed against yours again when your comms crackled to life.

_“(Y/N)? Rex? Do you copy? Are you there? You need to get out of there!”_

You groaned at the sound of Anakin’s mind nearly melting because neither of you had responded. Rex chuckled and it caused your insides to twist.

“We’re here. We have the intel and we’re leaving now.” You responded and you swear you could hear Anakin sigh in relief.

_“Good. Don’t ever do that to me again. Keep each other safe. We’ll be waiting.”_

Rex’s eyes met yours. “Yes sir.” 

After another selfish moment, you two finally separated, a new chill settling over your arms as he stepped away. Rex held out his hand to you.

“You ready?” 

You looked at his outstretched hand before looking back up at him. He was smiling again. You really loved that smile.

Your hand slipped into his, fingers lacing together. 

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m ready.”


	19. Trust - Cody x Reader

The moment you laid eyes on Marshal Commander Cody, you knew you were in trouble.

With his easy but rare smile, kind eyes, and wicked sense of humor, it was easy to imagine yourself falling for him. Words were easy to find when you were with him and no one else had made you feel so at ease. He never pushed, but was a steady calming presence you had been missing, especially when you were fighting a war. 

But your walls were high and sturdy. A lifetime of failed relationships always hung over your head like a curse, darkening every bright light you ever saw. It settled on your shoulders and dragged you down further and further with every passing day. 

Ever since your last chance at a relationship ended, things seemed hopeless. They’d broken your trust and faith in a way that shattered your dreams of ever finding someone who would cherish you in mind and body. 

After that, it was easier for you to accept you’d never experience what you so desperately wanted to feel. 

Things were easier that way. Your fragile heart needed a life to recover and you decided it was easier to see the rest of your years pass you by than to subject yourself to another heartbreak. 

But then along came Cody. 

It was subtle at first. 

In some of the very few moments you caught sight of him without his helmet, you would notice his eyes on you. But he’d always look away just quickly. It happened enough that you noticed and found yourself doing the same, wishing for even the smallest glimpse at the highest ranking clone in the GAR. 

Then one day you quite literally bumped into him while leaving a briefing, causing your flimsy cup of awful caf to drop to the floor. The moment his hands gripped your arms to steady you as you stumbled, eyes searching your face for any issues as he apologized.

You didn’t know it at the time, but he’d managed to find a crack in your walls, slipping his fingers inside and slowly working his way inside. It was the start of something you never saw coming. 

After a few awkward mutterings from the both of you, he had stepped back, lifting his hands away while his head ducked down. He once again apologized and you returned the sentiment. A quick word from General Kenobi seemingly broke the spell, but before you could retreat back into your comfort zone, Cody offered to make it up to you with a cup of non-GAR issued caf. 

Without thinking, you had said yes.

You walked away from him with a smile tugging at the corner of your mouth.

For the next few weeks, you began to spend more time with him. You did end up getting caf together the next time you were on a short leave on Coruscant and it was easier than you expected. Cody never expected you to have all the answers, but the gentle questions never stopped. 

It was effortless to open up to him, to laugh for the first time in a long time at a ridiculous story from before you joined the 212th as a civilian. The way his face had softened and his eyes had sparkled when you laughed was enough to stop your heart from beating. 

No one had ever looked at you like that. It made your impossible dream seem a little more possible.

But still it was hard. 

You’d been hurt one too many times, one of which was recent enough that you were still recovering. Your past was always not far behind you, chasing you through your days and your nights, refusing to yield. It was exhausting. You were so tired of running, but still you kept going. 

Sitting across from Cody in that small diner on Coruscant made you wonder what it would be like to finally stop running from your past, to imagine the life you could have. 

From that point on, Cody always made an effort to visit with you or spend more time with you when he had the time. And even when he didn’t have the time, he made sure to make time. You’d lost track of the times he’d dropped by your tiny closet of an office with some smuggled in sweets he’d confiscated from Waxer and Boil on a day you needed it most. It was like he knew when you needed the pick-me-up. 

The first time you’d hugged him, you had been convinced he’d been killed. 

They’d lost contact with him on a mission and instantly you could feel the panic seizing in your chest. It was hard to breathe and you couldn’t stop the tears from forming in your eyes.

The moment you saw him walking across the tarmac, armor dirty and scuffed, with his helmet tucked under his arm but looking relatively uninjured, you couldn’t stop yourself. You were sprinting across the pavement before you realized what you were doing. 

His eyes fixed on you almost instantly and you saw the wave of relief wash across his entire body. His bucket hit the ground seconds before you hit Cody. You threw yourself into his arms and he’d stumbled in surprise, but didn’t let you falter. 

You held on with everything you had, burying your face in his neck as you just held him as tightly as you could. Cody had done the same, arms locked around you as his gloved fingers wove snuggly into your hair.

He was fine. 

You were fine. 

After that, it was like something shifted.

Every chance the both of you had, you were placing a hand on his arm, or his shoulder, or intertwining your pinky with his. Cody seemed to have the same idea because he never left your presence without giving your elbow a squeeze or trailing his fingers along the back of your hand. 

The first time the pair of you kissed, it was you who made the first move.

You’d been sitting in a quiet hallway aboard the Negotiator. More confiscated candy sat between the two of you as you looked out at the clear, empty space around you. It was late and nearly everyone was already asleep, but neither of you seemed in any rush to go to bed, so you found a quiet corner and decided to just enjoy each other’s company. 

As you looked out into the darkness, you didn’t feel afraid. 

Before, you’d always been a little uneasy looking out into space like this. You weren’t sure what it was, but it unnerved you. But as you sat there beside Cody who was more relaxed than you had ever seen him, eating sweets you would have never thought he would like.

That’s when you realized you weren’t as afraid because Cody showed you that you didn’t have to be afraid. 

You had turned to him, eyes scanning his face as he looked out, chewing on a piece of candy. The sharp lines of his face had softened and he seemed at peace. Warmth spread through your chest and you could feel the darkness you’d been carrying for years slowly melt away, leaving nothing but a warmness you never wanted to fade.

Cody had noticed your gaze because he turned to you, eyebrows furrowed and concern flashing in his eyes.

It was in that moment that you realized what you’d done without even trying. 

You’d fallen for him. And it was the easiest thing you’ve ever done. And it didn’t scare you.

Despite your tendency to overthink and overanalyze things, you found yourself not thinking when you pushed yourself forward, knocking over the bag of candy to press your lips against Cody’s. He made it easy to not think, to just _feel._

Cody had seemed surprised at first if his sharp inhale told you anything, but he relaxed almost immediately, his gloveless hands coming up to gently cradle your head. 

It wasn’t the first time you’d ever kissed someone before, but it was the first time your stomach flipped and your entire body practically melted. It set every single one of your nerve endings on fire and you had no desire to put them out, in fact, you wanted them to keep burning, stoking the fire for the rest of your life.

It took your breath away.

Which is why you did eventually have to pull away even though you never wanted to ever stop. You opened your eyes, chewing on your lip as you looked at a face you saw every day in a million others, but there was only one you cared about. 

There was only one you loved.

Cody’s eyes opened and you were fixed with the most intense stare from the golden eyes you saw the stars in. He let out a soft chuckle when an unrestrained smile broke across his face. 

You’d do anything to see that smile over and over again for the rest of your lives. 

Trust has always been hard for you.

But with Cody it was easy.

And because it was easy, you stopped worrying and leaned forward again, capturing his lips again as he smiled against you.

You’d never flown higher than when the walls around you came tumbling down. Cody had given you a reason to trust again. To love again. 

It would always be an uphill battle for you, but Cody would never let you fall.

_Never._


	20. Surprises and Take-Out - Fives x Reader

Your time with Fives was always special.

He was constantly out fighting on the front lines while you stayed on Coruscant, working as a reporter for the Senate. You’d spend every day wondering, hoping he was okay. Due to the nature of his missions and deployments, you didn’t get to see each other in person often. But you always made it count when you did.

The last time you’d spoken with him was a week previous. He wasn’t sure when he’d be back on Coruscant, but he was hoping it’d be soon. Like always, you had told him to be safe and make it back to you.

It was hard, you’d be the first to admit it. A few of your close friends were also dating, but their relationships were so much different than yours. They regularly went out on dates, spent time together, and just existed in each other’s space most days.

But it was hard to be away from him so often, terrified that one day you’d find out he was gone. 

Despite all of your fears, you never gave up on him. You loved Fives, there was no question about that. And you’d continue loving him for as long as you were able. 

He was worth it.

Since you had yet to hear from Fives about when he was going to be planet-side next, you had resigned to spending a night in your apartment. A few of your friends had tried to drag you out, but you wanted to spend time in for once. You’d been missing Fives like crazy and didn’t really want to go out without him.

So, you put on your comfiest clothes (including a pair of Fives’ blacks he’d left behind last time), ordered takeout from your favorite place, and curled up on your couch to watch cheesy holofilms. The only thing that would make it better would be Fives.

But that wasn’t going to happen.

There was a knock at your door and you quickly paused the movie, throwing the blanket off your lap, and jumping to your feet. 

“Coming!” You called as you quickly headed for the door.

You opened the door and froze.

“Delivery.” Fives smiled at you and you blinked.

“Fives? What? How?” You stammered and he smiled as he gently pushed you inside your apartment, letting the door close behind him.

“Surprise leave. I wanted to comm you, but I figured surprising you might be fun.” He said with a twisted grin as he set down the bag of food. “Also I hope it was you who ordered from Dex’s because otherwise I just stole someone else’s food.”

Once his arms were clear, you threw yourself into them. Fives’ arms wrapped around you, trapping you against him as if he still couldn’t quite believe he was here.

“I’m so happy to see you.” You breathed against his ear, clawing yourself closer.

Fives took a deep breath, his face buried in the crook of your neck. “Me too.”

After a few moments of just holding each other, you reluctantly broke apart. Fives was quick to swoop down and kiss you soundly, making your toes curl. 

_Kriff_ you missed him.

Your stomach growled and Fives smiled against your lips before pulling back, resting his forehead against yours. “Come on, we have time for that later.” 

The implication of his words caused your cheeks to burn, but he only looked smug. To avoid any teasing, you quickly disappeared into your small kitchen. Fives started taking off his armor as you dug around for silverware and rustling up something for Fives to drink. 

Thankfully, you’d ordered an extra meal fully intending to eat it for lunch the next day. Maybe it was fate that kept you home and prepared you for Fives to surprise you.

The Force did work in mysterious ways. 

Before you knew it, the two of you were curled up on your couch, buried under your blanket with food on your laps. 

You had offered to change the holo, but Fives had waved you off, insisting he wanted to watch. You found yourself catching him up on what had already happened as you dug into your dinner. Fives’ legs were entangled with yours as you leaned into his side. As you watched, he offered his own commentary, cracking jokes that nearly had you choking on your food every time. 

By the time the holo finished, both of you had finished eating, your take-out containers laying discarded on the small end table in front of the couch. You started another holofilm as Fives scooted even closer to you, his cheek resting against your shoulder.

As the holo played, Fives absentmindedly traced patterns across your hands. Every brush of his fingertips sent tingles up your arm and you found yourself focusing on him more than the holo. Which was probably exactly what he was going for.

Halfway through the holo, you felt Fives’ breathing even out. With a quick glance down at him, you saw that he was fast asleep. With a smile playing on your lips, you carefully slid out your arm from under him, letting his head rest against your chest. You slunk down further into the couch and wrapped your arm around his shoulders.

He sighed deeply against you when you began dragging your hand through his messy hair, his arms encircling you completely.

The holo ended and another one began as you felt your own eyes start to grow heavy. 

And with the sound of the man you loved breathing beside you, you drifted off to sleep, knowing that it was moments like these you would cherish for the rest of your life.


	21. By Your Side (Again) - Echo x Jedi!Reader

The war had been dragging on for an unbelievably long three years.

You couldn’t wait for it to end. And you hoped it would end soon.

You honestly weren’t sure how much more of this war you would take. Not after all that you’ve lost. It was quickly becoming too much.

But in spite of the weight of the galaxy bearing down on your shoulders, you couldn’t help but feel like everything would be coming to an end. Very soon.

So you kept your head down and went wherever the Council decided to send you without much of an argument. Your days of staring down the Council and demanding better missions or for them to get their heads out of their asses was over. You lost your will to fight after the Citadel. 

Every time a ghost of a memory would drift into your consciousness, you’d chase it away with a vengeance, unwilling to be dragged down into the depths of your mind. Everyone had lost something due to this war, some more than others. 

None more than you.

You walked through the busy shipping bays of Coruscant, counting the steps until you began your next mission. Around you, troopers with various stages of paint on their armor passed by with a quick salute and often a lingering stare at the saber clipped to your belt. 

Your hands tightened on the strap of your small bag as you bit down on your lip. Your shoulders ached under the tension creeping inside them. The Force signatures of the troopers around you flooded your senses and you grit your teeth in an effort to shut them out.

Jedi were taught not to feel. 

Well, that is a slight overreaction, but they are taught to let go of their feelings and release them into the Force so they are unable to influence their decisions. You’d always struggled with that part. You had an extremely deep connection with the Force, which is why you were tasked with this mission in the first place (and because there weren’t many Jedi to spare). But ever since the mission at the Citadel, you found your connection to the Force to be dulled, muted in a way you’d never felt before.

You didn’t really want to face why. 

You rounded the corner for the spaceport, boots clicking against the durasteel floor. Fresh air seeped into your skin and you inhaled deeply. Coruscant air was far from the cleanest out there, but it was better than the air in the stuffy Temple. 

_Spaceport A1-13._

Your eyes fixed on the bay you would be meeting this specialized clone force and you forced your legs to move in that direction.

One more mission.

One more mission and then you’d reevaluate.

Things had been spiraling for you for a while and you weren’t sure you could pull yourself out of your tailspin. The ground was approaching fast and while you knew you had the power to change direction, a small, insignificant part of you wondered if you should even bother.

Upon seeing a trooper standing outside of a ship, scanning the crowds, you pushed your shoulders back and let your face clear. Moments later, his eyes fixed on you.

“Sergeant Hunter?” You called and he offered you his hand with a nod.

“General. We’re glad to have you on this mission.” He said as he shook your hand. After a moment, you let go, offering him a nod of your own.

“I’m glad I can help.” 

“We’ve loaded up everything we need. Once I introduce you to the rest of the boys, we’ll be able to get going.” Hunter motioned behind him to the open ramp where sounds of bickering and arguing filtered out of. 

“Sounds like a plan.” You agreed.

At that moment, the voices grew louder and three clones stepped down the ramp. 

“Men, this is General (Y/n). She’s the Jedi coming with us on this mission.” Hunter said and you turned to the other troopers, offering all of them a fleeting smile. “This is Wrecker, Crosshair, and Tech.”

“It’s nice to meet all of you. Thank you for letting me join you for the time being.” You said, feeling their Force signatures brighten slightly.

“While we normally work well alone, I will admit that having a Jedi on this mission will likely be remarkably helpful.” Tech chattered and you let out a soft laugh.

“Anything I can do to help.” You reiterated as Hunter turned to you. 

“We do have one more, I’m not sure where - oh, there he is.” Hunter said and your gaze followed his line of sight.

That’s when the world stopped spinning.

Your vision tunneled. Your mouth grew dry and your hands began to tremble. Your breath stuttered in your chest as you struggled to breathe normally. 

He was paler. His cheeks were sunken in and he was missing an arm, having been replaced with something you expected to see on a droid, not on a person. His eyes were the same as they’ve always been, but there was a heaviness there. It was clear he’d seen and been through so much that he was keen on never sharing, but you’d always been able to read him like a book.

You reached out through the Force, brushing past Hunter’s bright but firm presence, ignoring Wrecker’s intensity, Tech’s predictability, and Crosshair’s indifference. The overwhelming familiarity you encountered when you pushed into his Force signature nearly brought you to your knees.

The bag over your shoulder hit the ground with a soft thump.

“Echo?” Your voice cracked, barely over a whisper.

But his eyes softened all the same and when he spoke your name, it brushed against your cheek like a gentle breeze

It was when he breathed your name that you felt everything that had been dragging you down since Echo was kille - _disappeared_ \- at the Citadel floated away. The world brightened in an instant and you couldn’t stop the bubble of a laugh - your first real laugh since that mission - slipped past your lips.

Moments later, Echo was pushing past the three troopers and rushing towards you. You took a step and practically collapsed, right into his arms. 

He felt the same. His arms wound around you like they always had and his cheek pressed against the top of your head. He felt thinner, rougher around the edges, but he was still undeniably Echo that it nearly broke your heart.

You were unable to stop the tears from streaming down your face, but for the first time in your life you really didn’t care. You were back in the arms of the one person who had your whole heart and you didn’t _kriffing_ care who saw. 

“I - I thought - the Citadel-” You stammered and Echo pressed himself closer to you.

His own chest stuttered against yours. “It’s a long story. But I’m not going anywhere ever again. I promise.” 

The Force hummed around you and you squeezed your eyes shut, enjoying the pure wave of happiness that washed over you. You were never letting him go. Never again.

“Is anyone else terribly confused?” Tech’s clipped voice brought you back to the present. You sniffled against Echo’s shoulder, brushing aside the tears that were still freely falling. 

You saw Hunter roll his eyes at Tech before ushering them all back into their ship. 

“But-” Wrecker started only to get a swift punch in the arm from Crosshair. Thus the pair broke into an argument that faded as they went further into the ship.

You reluctantly pulled back, allowing yourself to cup Echo’s face in your hands. You brushed your thumb under his eye, taking a salty tear with it. 

“You don’t have to stay with me. I know I’m different now.” Echo started, his eyes drifting down like he couldn’t bear to look you in the eyes while he spoke. You tilted his head back up, pressing your forehead against his.

“You’re still Echo to me.” You whispered. “Nothing is ever going to change how I feel about you. And now that I have you back, you’re never getting rid of me.”

The corner of his mouth ticked upwards and you dragged your thumb across his cheekbone. Even though you were in an extremely public place where anyone could see you, you didn’t hesitate to push a few more inches forward, kissing Echo with everything you had. 

His arms tightened around you and you let yourself melt. 

Things had been dark and bleak in your life when Echo died. You were reaching the end of your rope and were almost too tired to continue carrying on. But seeing him again, being in his arms once more reinvigorated you in a way you never could have expected. 

The war could drag on for another three years for all you cared. As long as Echo remained by your side, there was nothing you couldn’t do.


	22. Home - Wolffe x Reader

All things considered, you really should have done better with planning ahead. 

The 104th was going to be on Coruscant for a short leave for the first time in weeks and you were beyond excited. Sure, you and Wolffe had basically commed every single night (except when he was deep in a mission) but you missed being around him. And you’re sure he felt the same way.

You’d been planning everything for a few days, which included making sure to get all of his favorite foods, speed cleaning your tiny apartment, and just panicking in general. Nerves had been churning at your gut since he told you he’d be coming to Coruscant. There was absolutely nothing to be worried about, but still, you couldn’t help it.

What you hadn’t planned on was being stuck at work past the end of your shift. You worked at one of the space ports as one of the technicians who kept track of shipments and the ships that entered and left. One freighter had spilled it’s supplies all across the port and you ended up staying late to try and help clean up and keep the ships scheduled to dock appeased. You had taken a quick look at your comm when you were leaving and saw a message from Wolffe telling you they had just arrived and he’d be over once everything was cleared. 

That had made your nerves flip from a casual nervousness to a full on _panic_ because _you weren’t even home yet._

You drew some strange looks as you rode back to your apartment from the other people in the compartment as you. Your fingers were tapping relentlessly against the metal walls and you shifted back and forth on your feet. As soon as the doors opened, announcing your stop, you were sprinting out the doors. 

You practically ran the last few blocks to your apartment, gasping for air by the time you’d made it to your door. You kicked off your shoes and threw your things on your small table before hurrying into the kitchen. After pulling things out of your cupboards, you quickly threw together the meal that you had planned for tomorrow, but had to resort to tonight because your plan for tonight would take too long. 

After another frantic glance at the time, you rushed into your bedroom. You set a timer for the food and jumped into your ‘fresher. The hot water helped relieve some of the tension in your shoulders and calm your heart rate. 

You had just climbed out, pulling on a black shirt when the timer went off. 

“Kriff!” You cursed, throwing open the door and rushing back into your kitchen. Your still damp hair dripped down your back and your feet protested the cold floor, but you pushed all of that aside. You’d have time to finish getting ready.

You quickly pulled the food out of the cooker and placed it on your counter. Despite it being a last minute replacement, it smelled amazing. Your stomach growled and you thought back to how you had to skip lunch because of how busy you were. You debated sneaking a snack, but decided against it. You cleared off the table, throwing your things into your room as you set out two plates. 

Satisfied that everything was as good as it was going to get, you turned to finish getting ready. 

Except fate had other plans.

The keypad by the door beeped and the door opened seconds later. You froze and turned to see Wolffe walk in. He looked tired, completely exhausted, but a smile he only reserved for you spread across his face, lighting it up.

“Wolffe!” You gasped, barely giving him to step inside your apartment before you were throwing yourself into his arms. He caught you, like he always does, clutching you to him like he’d forgotten what holding you felt like.

He was still wearing his armor, but that had never bothered you before. You only clawed yourself closer to him, burying your face into his neck and breathing deeply. You didn’t realize how much you missed him until you found yourself in his arms again. Now that he was here in front of you again, you didn’t want to let him go. 

Wolffe shifted against you and you lifted your head to face him fully. He didn’t waste any time leaning down and kissing you soundly. Your entire body melted against him as his lips moved insistently against yours. You weren’t sure you’d ever get used to the explosion of feeling you felt every time he kissed you. Every time felt like the first and you never wanted it to stop. Wolffe wasn’t someone who was known for expressing his feelings, but you always knew exactly how much he cared for you every time his lips would touch yours, or when you’d catch him staring at you like he couldn’t believe you were real, or how he would always comm you whenever he had the chance even if it was just to ask about your day. 

There was no doubt in your mind that you loved him. And one day you hoped you’d have the courage to tell him.

He pulled back and rested his forehead against yours. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” You breathed, threading your hands through his hair. “Dinner is ready, but you can take a turn in the ‘fresher first if you want. Just know that if you do, I will be spoiling my dinner with a snack.”

Wolffe’s chest rumbled against yours. “Well we can’t have that can we. Just let me get this armor off.”

You pressed a quick kiss to Wolffe’s cheek before pulling yourself out of his arms. His hand lingered on your waist for a second longer than expected, but he began taking off his worn armor as you breezed into the kitchen. You could hear his armor being piled up by the door as you pulled out some utensils and glasses. 

“Are those my blacks?” Wolffe asked and you stopped reaching into the cupboard above you to look at him. His eyes were trailing up and down your body and you felt a heat rise to your cheeks as your heels fell back to the floor. Your fingers played with the edges of the shirt that was much too big on you.

“Uh - yeah.” You said. “I think you left them behind last time you visited and I put them on when I miss you, which is almost always.”

You cleared your throat. “I just threw them on to take care of dinner. I’ll go finish getting dressed.” You ducked your head and made a beeline for your bedroom door, only for Wolffe to step in front of you.

His hands reached up to brush against your arms before trailing down and gripping your hips, thumbing at the edge of his blacks on you. Your eyes flicked up to his, chewing on your lip. 

“I think I like them better on you.” He said and it sent a wave of electricity over you. 

“Well good because you were never getting them back.” You said and Wolffe chuckled, pulling you against him again. 

Without much of a warning, Wolffe surged forward, kissing you again. You gasped against his mouth and took a step backwards to steady yourself. But that only knocked you off balance, causing you to tumble onto your ridiculously old couch. 

Wolffe, to his credit, wasn’t phased. He tumbled forward with you, bracing his arms on the arm of the couch behind your head. Your stomach flipped at the positioning and you reached your hands up to cradle his face. His eyes closed and he took a deep breath.

He opened his eyes and you smiled at him. Wolffe leaned the rest of the way forward and pressed his lips against yours. You let yourself get lost, only thinking about the man hovering above you and the way he made you feel. 

His lips tore away from yours, instead choosing to drag their way across your jaw and down your neck. You couldn’t help the strangled gasp that slipped past when he hovered over your pulse point. His hands slowly trailed higher, sliding under his blacks that you’d stolen.

“What about dinner?” You squeaked and he dug his fingers into your bare side. 

“It can wait. Right now I want to enjoy something else.” 

Far be it from you to argue with that. 

You closed your eyes and pulled him closer. You’d never get used to the idea that Wolffe had chosen you. He could be with anyone he wanted, but he picked you. The distance and time apart was difficult, you weren’t one to shy away from how hard it is. But it almost made the time you did spend together that much sweeter. 

And if you didn’t get around to eating until a few hours later, well that was no one’s business but your own.


	23. Falling - Jesse x Reader

Jesse had always been annoying. 

From the moment you joined the GAR and were assigned to the 501st, he’d wedged himself in your business and refused to budge. Considering your job was looking after and repairing the _Resolute_ , you were always in a different part of the ship every day. Because of this, you’d gotten to know troopers from all areas. They were always friendly, nice, and kind to you. Some of them were a little flirty ( _looking at you Fives_ ), but it was clear that it was all in good fun, the way friend’s teased each other. 

But Jesse was different.

He was always able to track you down somehow and made it his personal mission to annoy the hell out of you. You honestly had no idea how he found so much free time, but he did and he used that free time to constantly trail after you with teasing and flirty remarks that always hit a little _too_ close to home.

You were attracted to him. It was hard not to be. But it did drive you crazy, which is probably why Jesse liked to hang around you so much. He just knew that he made you feel that way and loved to cause havoc. You’d always wondered what it would be like to actually be with him, but squashed the notion just as quickly. He was teasing and flirting because it was fun for him, not because he had any personal stake in the matter. It was a game to him and you’d be damned if you lost to him. 

That being said, considering his track record, you weren’t surprised when you were repairing one of the control panels near the lower decks and Jesse once again had managed to find you. You knew it was him the moment you heard footsteps approaching you. But you weren’t going to give him the satisfaction and kept yourself tucked in the vent where the panel was, the ladder solid beneath your feet.

You heard Jesse whistle from outside the vent. “I gotta say, this is a lovely view.”

You groaned and let your head rest against the cool vent. “Kriff off Jesse, I’m actually working, unlike you.”

“Ouch.” Jesse said as you went back to adjusting the panel’s levels. “You wound me, _cyare._ ”

You rolled your eyes before sliding your upper body out of the vent. You blinked at the bright lights before fixing your eyes on a smirking Jesse standing at the base of your ladder. 

“One of these days you’re going to tell me what that means.” You stated and he shook his head with an _annoyingly cute_ smirk on his face. 

“My lips are sealed, _cyare._ ” He dragged out the last word and you huffed in annoyance. 

The first time Jesse had called you that, you had asked Kix what it had meant. The medic had sighed and told you he wasn’t getting involved, that Jesse would tell you when he was ready. Which of course had only made you want to know more. Except every trooper you asked refused to give up the meaning. It pissed you off, which only spurred Jesse to use it as often as he could.

The kriffing _bastard_.

“Whatever. I’ve got work to do. Which you never seem to be doing. Does Captain Rex know you’re slacking off?” You said, grabbing another tool from your belt.

“Rex has been a little busy recently. Besides, I’d rather watch you work.” He said and you shot him a glare.

Without thinking, you grabbed a wrench out of your tool belt and threw it at his head. He dodged, the wrench hitting his shoulder. Your small victory was short lived.

You felt the ladder wobble moments before it slipped off of the wall, taking you with it. In an ill attempt to catch yourself, you made a grab for the edge of the vent, but you had too much momentum and your fingers slipped.

Your eyes squeezed shut, fully expecting to hit the ground, hard.

But you didn’t hit the ground. A pair of arms that definitely hadn’t been there before had managed to grab a hold of you, one arm snaked around your back and the other tucked under your knees. Instinctively, you grabbed onto them and held on. 

The ladder clattered to the floor and you held your breath as it finally settled. Once you’d gathered up enough courage, you opened your eyes. Jesse’s face was much closer than you had originally thought and your heart thumped in your chest. Being that close to him was intoxicating in a way you hadn’t expected. Subconsciously, you tighten your grip around his shoulders.

Jesse was looking at you with a mischievous look in his eyes. “I think you just-” he paused, like he was holding for dramatic effect, “-fell for me.”

You clenched your jaw and forced the blush down. “Put me down.”

“Oh I don’t know, I kind of like our current predicament.” Jesse was behaving way too smugly for your liking. And he was enjoying it far too much.

Someone had to knock him down a peg. 

The good news you were definitely in the perfect situation to mess with him. Two could play at his game. And you liked your odds much better.

You smiled sweetly and his face fell slightly, not expecting that. “Well, I guess we’ll have to make the most of it then.”

Which is arguably when all of the stupid ideas transferred from him and into you. Without letting yourself think about what you were doing, you moved your arms and gripped the sides of his face and dragged him closer, kissing him with everything you had. He gasped into your mouth, but you didn’t let up. You turned your head ever so slightly and a jolt of electricity shot through you when Jesse groaned into your lips. 

His arms tightened around you and you really didn’t mind just how closely you were pressed together. And as much as you were enjoying the feeling of his lips moving against yours (because you _definitely_ were), you needed to remember why you’d kissed him in the first place. 

You pulled back, your eyes opening as Jesse chased after your lips with his own. More than anything, you wanted to kiss him again. After getting a taste of what it was like, you never wanted to stop ever again. 

But you were excited to mess with him for once. With as _enthusiastic_ as Jesse had been, you didn’t doubt that you’d get another chance. 

His eyes slowly opened and you bit your lip at the look of want in his eyes, one that was directed right at you. You gave him another sweet smile before pushing hard against his chest. He was still pretty dazed, so he fumbled, giving you enough room to drop out of his arms. 

Jesse braced himself against the wall and his eyes flickered up to you, his whole face radiating nothing but confusion.

“Thanks Jesse.” You start to move backwards and could practically hear the gears turning in his head. 

“But-” Jesse stuttered and you bit your lip to keep from smiling.

You turned around, walking backwards down the hallway. “Maybe if you can catch me, I’ll let you kiss me again.”

His gaze snapped to you, his eyes darkening. You’d be lying if you said that his look didn’t do _things_ to your insides.

“Oh it is on, _cyare_.” Jesse pushed off the wall and you turned and bolted. 

The startled looks of the troopers you passed as your laughter bounced off the walls with Jesse right on your heels was definitely worth every terse argument and snappy conversation between the two of you. You’d never felt freer and the warmth that a certain trooper had caused had yet to dim; in fact, you were pretty sure it was growing with every second. 

Jesse may have started out as an annoyance, someone who slowed you down. But he was far from that now (well, he still annoyed you, but at least now you knew an _excellent_ way to shut him up).

(And if the time you spent shut up in a supply closet with him immediately after he’d caught you was any inclination, he seemed to enjoy the new change between the two of you as well)


	24. The Accident - Kix x Reader - Part 1

You considered yourself the clumsiest person in the entire galaxy.

There was no one out there who was more accident prone than you. And for someone who worked with machinery, it was a recipe for disaster. Due to your affinity for (accidentally) injuring yourself, you’d gotten pretty good at taking care of any injuries you’d incur while working on droids.

Despite your ability to clean up any wounds, inevitably, you’d end up having to go to the med bay every few times. Which was the last thing you wanted to do.

The first time you had to go to the med-bay aboard the _Resolute_ was your second day on the ship. A droid had malfunctioned and nearly taken you out with it. Somehow, you managed to avoid the worst of it and ended up with a dislocated knee. Which was _wonderful._

The worst part of the whole thing was you’d been looked after by Kix. You thought he had to be the prettiest clone in the GAR and you were an absolute mess around him. And you were pretty sure the bastard _knew it._

He’d popped your knee back in place and had given you a brace with some stims to help with the pain. But you’d barely heard what he was saying because he was just so distracting. And you were pretty sure your face had turned a brilliant shade of red. That definitely didn’t help your case. 

Afterwards, Kix had told you to stop by if you ever needed anything else and you’d only stumbled over every single word. Like a kriffing idiot. 

You seriously wish someone would just end you. Because you couldn’t handle the embarrassment.

Ever since then, you’d made several trips to the med bay. Somehow, you’d managed to avoid being looked at by Kix. Which made the trips much smoother in your opinion. Sometimes he was there and your eyes tracked him literally the entire time like some weird stalker (in your defense, he was just _so pretty_ ). Other times he wasn’t there at all, instead off on a mission. Those trips were the easiest, but you’d inevitably spend the rest of the day wondering if he was alright. You’d always worry until your next trip to the med bay (which was usually within the week) and you would spot him flitting around the med bay. It was only then you’d be able to relax. 

Well, sort of.

Considering how unlucky you were in terms of being accident prone, it was a kriffing miracle that you managed to not be treated by Kix so many times in a row. 

But your luck was going to run out eventually. And it happened a lot sooner than you were ready for. 

For once, it actually wasn’t your fault you’d gotten hurt. 

You were taking a break with another one of the civilian workers. It was your first break of the day and it came at the perfect time. You’d nearly tripped over some mechanical equipment and it was only because of the quick actions of one of your coworkers that you _didn’t_ end up in the med-bay. 

It had been almost a week since your last trip to the med-bay and you were bound and determined to make it seven full days without injuring yourself. 

You should have known that thinking that was going to be a stroke of bad luck.

Your friend, Lana, was telling you a story from the last time the _Resolute_ was back on Coruscant and how a few of the men had gotten themselves in some trouble at 79’s. It didn’t surprise you, but the story had you laughing, which meant it was a good one. She was just getting to the good part when a yell from one of the training rooms startled the both of you.

“Look out!” 

You must have blacked out for a second, because one moment you were turning to look at where the shout had come from and the next you were blinking up at the ceiling from the floor. Lana was hovering above you and her mouth was moving, but it sounded garbled. You lifted your hand and held it against your head that was throbbing. Your eyes slipped shut in the hopes that it would clear and stop showing you two versions of everyone.

“-you hear me? Hello? Can you hear me?” Lana’s voice finally cut through the static and you forced your eyes open, wincing at the bright lights above you.

“Yeah. I can hear you.” You managed to say and she let out a sigh of relief. “What happened?”

“Some of the boys were playing bolo-ball. The ball got away from them and hit you.” She said and you couldn’t help the groan that slipped past your lips. 

“Oh great.” 

“Come on.” She said, wrapping a hand under your arm and pulling you up slowly. 

“I’m so sorry!” Someone said to your left and you turned to see a trooper you didn’t recognize. 

“‘S alright.” You slurred slightly. “No biggie.”

“Is there something I can do?” He asked and you opened your mouth to respond, but Lana beat you to it.

“Help me get them to the med-bay and maybe buy them a drink the next time we’re on Coruscant.” Lana said and he nodded quickly. 

Your head was throbbing much too intensely for you to protest Lana’s idea and the two of them quickly led you through the hallways to the med-bay. You really don’t remember much from the trip, having spent most of it with your eyes squeezed shut. Vaguely, you could hear Lana and the trooper conversing. Which honestly sounded a lot like flirting. Well, you were glad someone had gotten something out of this whole situation.

What you do remember is the doors to the med-bay swinging open and seeing the one person you had been avoiding for the last few weeks. 

Kix. 

He had the audacity to look slightly amused.

“You almost hit a week without coming here.” He said as he crossed the med-bay and relieved the other trooper from helping you. Through your foggy brain, you vaguely processed the fact that Kix _definitely had his arm around your waist and you were definitely going to combust-_

You were gently pushed down to a bed and Kix floated off to grab his scanners while Lana and the trooper hovered. Kix returned much too soon for your liking. You had barely had enough time to prepare yourself for the encounter and you were sure you were going to die of embarrassment.

“I gotta go back to work. Will you be okay here? I’ll come back to walk you to your room.” Lana said and you turned to her, eyes pleading for her to stay.

“They'll will be fine. I’ll make sure they gets back to their room.” Kix said and you inwardly groaned, silently _begging_ Lana to stay. But she only squeezed your hand and turned away, leaving with the trooper. As they left, you could hear Lana pick up their flirting from where they left off.

_The traitor._

“What happened?” Kix asked as he opened up his scanners and got them ready. You squeezed your eyes shut, holding your throbbing head.

“I’m not even sure. I think I got hit in the head with a bolo-ball when I was walking by some troopers playing.” 

“You really do have the worst luck.” Kix said and you bit your lip.

He had no idea.

Kix pulled out his scanner and quickly did a scan, stopping when it beeped at him. 

“Your heart-rate is a little elevated.” He said, looking at you out of the corner of his eye. That was when you noticed he was _smirking._

He knew he was the reason your heart-rate was elevated. You felt your cheeks start to burn and you begged your heart to just calm down for _one kriffing second_. But you could only hear the beeping increase ever so slightly. He looked back down at his scanner with a smile playing across his lips and you felt your stomach tighten. 

This really was the worst.

“According to my scans, it looks like you have a mild concussion.” Kix said, taping away at the datapad he’d brought over. “I’ll give you a stim and something to help with the throbbing. You need to get lots of rest and drink lots of fluids. I’m putting you on a short medical leave until your symptoms are gone. I want you to stop by here tomorrow so we can make sure that your symptoms aren’t worsening in any way. Can you do that?”

You nodded. “Yes.” 

“Good.” He said before picking up something. “Here comes the stim.”

It jabbed into your upper arm and you winced. He started gathering his things and stepped away for a moment. You could feel the stim already working. Your vision was starting to clear and the pounding and lessened to a dull throb. Without really thinking, you pushed off the bed to stand up. 

Big mistake.

As soon as you moved, your head swam and you could feel yourself dropping.

You expected to hit the ground, but instead hit something else. 

“Woah. You definitely aren’t ready to move that fast yet.”

Huh. That was definitely Kix. You’d be able to recognize his voice anywhere. But he sounded really close. Which didn’t make sense because he was just across the room.

Slowly your vision stopped trying to actively make your life miserable and you were able to make out your surroundings again. Which was, of course, the moment you realized why you hadn’t hit the ground like you had expected.

Kix had caught you.

Which meant you were now in the arms of the one person you so desperately wanted to be, but were also _so embarrassed_ about. He seemed to track your thought process because he smirked down at you, tightening his grip around your waist. 

_Kriff,_ he was even prettier up close.

“Well, I’m glad you think I’m pretty.” Kix said and you could feel your stomach bottom out.

“I said that out loud?” You breathed and he laughed lowly, the sound piercing straight through you.

“Yes you did.” 

You squeezed your eyes tight and groaned. This day could not get any worse.

“But it’s fine because I think you’re pretty too.”

You were positive you stopped breathing when Kix said that. In fact, you probably did because Kix was quick to push you back to sit on the bed, giving your arm a squeeze. 

“Hey you okay?” He asked and you looked down at your hands and forced the air back into your lungs. Kix ran a hand up and down your arm as you continued to take deep breaths. “I thought for sure I’d have to give you CPR.”

“Can you?” The words slipped out before you could stop them. You blamed the concussion.

Kix only laughed. “I think that might be too much excitement for your head, but I definitely think that can be arranged at a later date.” 

Okay. It was official.

You were definitely dreaming. 

There was no way this was real.

“Come on, let’s get you to your room so you can rest.” Kix said as he helped you stand up, much slower this time.

He’d said something to someone else in the med-bay, but you were too focused on not tripping over your own feet and the fact that Kix had his arm around you _again._

The walk back to your quarters went fairly quickly. Before you knew it, you were punching in your code. The doors slinked open, revealing your extremely messy and darkened room. You rested against your door as Kix slipped out from beside you.

“Thanks for walking me back Kix.” You said and he smiled at you, which made butterflies fill your stomach.

“It was my pleasure.” He said. “Now, I want to see you in the med-bay first thing tomorrow so I can make sure you’re on track for healing. Remember, lots of rest and fluids. You need to get at least 8 hours of good restful sleep.”

“Sir, yes sir.” You saluted and he grinned down at you.

But then he did something else that surprised you. Kix stepped back into your space, close enough that the toes of your boots hit his. You had wanted to look away because you’d never really been that close with someone else before, but his eyes held you still. Then he leaned down closer. Your eyes drifted shut without thinking and your whole body tensed when his lips touched your cheek. He lingered for a moment and you relished in the close heated contact.

Kix stepped back and your eyes opened. He offered you a grin, making your knees feel weak.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” He said before turning to walk away. Only Kix stopped just down the hall to look at you again. “And maybe then we can discuss the whole CPR thing.”

Kix laughed at your shocked expression and you were beyond thankful you were leaning against your door. He offered you a quick wave before turning on his heel and walking away. 

You had no idea if this was a fever dream or if it was real life. And frankly, you didn’t want to know. 

For now, you’d be content in watching the prettiest clone in the GAR walk away from you.

You’d find out if it was all real tomorrow. Which made your stomach drop to your toes.

 _Maker_ you were clumsy. But maybe having Kix around to pick you up when you inevitably fell wasn’t such a bad thing. After all, you really didn’t mind ending up in the med-bay if Kix was there to keep you company.


	25. The Accident - Kix x Reader - Part 2

You woke up to a pounding headache. 

Which you had expected, but it still was extremely unpleasant. Blindly, you reached for a cup to water and down the whole thing. After laying in your bunk for a few more minutes, you finally forced yourself to your feet. 

You stumbled into your small ‘fresher, head still throbbing. Following a long hot shower, your head’s pounding and dulled to an ache. Which was manageable. 

Your headache reminded you about what had transpired the day before. Which meant you remembered your interactions with Kix. Part of you wondered if you’d made the whole thing up. It was certainly possible. You honestly wouldn’t put it past yourself. But there was another part of you that _knew_ it was all real.

You didn’t know which part you wanted to believe.

Trying your best to brush those thoughts aside, you quickly got dressed and left your room. Despite what did or did not happen the day before, you did promise you’d stop by the med-bay first thing in the morning. 

You didn’t run into many troopers as it was still fairly early, which you were thankful for. Your nerves were shot and the bright lights of the hallways were slowly bringing your headache back.

Unfortunately for you, you did happen to run into Lana, aka the traitor.

“Hey you! How’d it go with your favorite medic?” She bumped her hip with yours and you could feel your cheeks warm.

“It went fine. Thanks for abandoning me.” You snapped and she scoffed.

“Oh please. You were practically begging me to leave the two of you alone.” 

You glared at her.

“Okay, maybe you weren’t. But it is so painfully obvious that the two of you have feelings for each other. So you needed the push. What happened?” She asked and you bit down on your lip hard.

“Nothing.”

“I know for a fact that you’re lying. Try that one more time.”

“I made a fool of myself and he walked me back to my room. _That’s it._ ” You insisted. Lana grabbed your arm and forced you to stop walking. She scanned your face with a determined look. 

She gasped suddenly, making you jump. “Oh kriff you guys kissed!”

“What?” You hissed. “No we didn’t!”

“Yes you did!” Lana squealed and you frantically shushed her. 

“Okay fine, he kissed me on the cheek. But that’s it.” Your face was on fire, but Lana looked more excited than you had ever seen her.

“Ugh come on, you have got to make your move. If you don’t tap that, someone else will.” Your breath caught in your throat. If you had been drinking something, it would have been spit everywhere.

“Lana!” You gasped and she only waved you off.

“You know I’m right.” She turned to you. “Where are you heading now?”

You chewed on your lip. “The med-bay.”

“ _Oh my stars._ You’re going to see him again!”

“I’m only going because he needs to check on the symptoms of my concussion. Which you aren’t making any better by the way.” Lana ignored your dig at her, instead grabbing your arm and dragging you in the direction of the med-bay.

“You are going to march into that med-bay and take your man or I swear to the Maker I will have to get involved.” 

“You already are involved.” 

“Oh shut up.” Lana bit back before shoving you in the direction of the med-bay doors. “Now go kiss him!”

Maker you were in trouble.

The med-bay itself was also pretty empty. A few troopers were sleeping among the beds and it was clear the medics were getting ready for a shift change. Briefly you wondered if Kix would even be here. 

As it would turn out, in the next moment your question would be answered. 

“Mornin'! It’s good to see you. How’s your head?” Kix asked as he rounded the corner. You wrung your hands together.

“Good. Still hurts, but less so after some sleep.” You answered honestly and Kix seemed to beam at you. 

“Great! Let me just run another scan to make sure things look okay and then you can be on your way. Follow me.” Kix waved at you before turning and heading deeper into the med-bay. Your feet were moving before you could process what you were doing.

The portion of the med-bay he led you to was quiet. You could still hear the buzz of troopers talking, but it was much more subdued. Kix motioned for you to take a seat and you did as he asked, sitting on the edge of an empty medical bed. 

To keep yourself occupied while Kix flitted around for his datapad and scanner, you played with your hands in your lap. You had absolutely nothing to be nervous about, but your stomach was refusing to quiet. Your pesky heart was also hammering incessantly. 

Kix returned moments later, quickly running a scan. His scanner beeped and he took a look. 

“It looks like it’s healing nicely. You can return to work, but you need to take it easy. I don’t want to see you back here because you reinjured your head or injured something else when you should be resting.” Kix said and you nodded quickly.

“Got it.” 

Kix set down his scanner and datapad as you stood up. Your head spun for half a second, but recovered just as quickly. You turned to head out only for your path to be blocked by Kix. 

Instantly your heart thudded in your chest. 

“Listen, about yesterday. I’m sorry if I crossed a line. I just-” Kix trailed off for a second. “-I just really like being around you. So I’m sorry if I made you at all uncomfortable.”

Your mouth felt dry. 

He was giving you an out, a way to back out if you in any way doubted your own feelings or didn’t reciprocate them. And even though it’d be much easier to take it. You didn’t want to.

“It’s okay.” You spit out, Kix turning to you in surprise. “I liked it.”

A sense of playfulness danced behind his eyes as he stepped closer, his boots once again tapping against yours. You swear you stopped breathing.

“So the whole ‘CPR’ thing, you wouldn’t be opposed?” He was leaning closer now, his breath tickling your nose. 

“No.” You barely managed to get the word out, too focused on the fact that he was slowly inching closer. His nose bumped against yours and it sent a jolt of electricity down your body. 

_Oh my stars this was actually happening holy kriffing -_

Any and all coherent thoughts promptly flew out of the bay windows when his lips pressed against yours. Like he actually _kissed you._

Your entire body felt like it was on fire, your eyes closing almost instantly. Kix’s _unbelievably soft_ lips moved against yours and you thought you absolutely had to be dreaming. There was no way this was real. 

The feeling of Kix’s hands weaving into your hair sent tingles shooting down your spine. You grabbed onto his wrists, eager for something to tether you. Your thumb brushed over his exposed wrist and you could feel his pulse jump. A noise you’d never heard from Kix grew deep in his throat and he pressed himself even closer to you. His head nudged yours and in the next instant, his tongue was tangled with yours. 

_Holy kriff holy kriff holy kriff holy kriff holy kr-_

“Hey Kix?” A voice approaching caused you to inhale sharply. Kix abruptly pulled away and turned his head behind him.

“I’ll be right there.” He called and the footsteps receded. Kix turned back to you, chuckling when he saw the dazed look on your face. “When does your shift end?”

“Wha-?” You asked dumbly, unable to string thoughts together.

Kix grinned wider. “When are you off?”

“Uh-” You said, trying to remember when your shift ended. “-around 1800.”

“Great. I’ll see you then.” Kix responded, but before you could ask him what he meant, he kissed you again. You promptly forgot what you were going to say.

He pulled back. “Try not to get yourself hurt.” He gave you another broad smile before turning and heading back to his post in the med-bay.

You took a few moments, trying to gather your thoughts again. Once you thought you weren’t going to collapse, you quickly left the med-bay, feeling Kix’s eyes on you as you left. 

Your mind was reeling. _Did that really just happen?_

You still don’t know what you did to earn the attention of the prettiest clone in the GAR, but you weren’t going to question it. 

And if that night, after your shift ended, Kix pulled you into the medical supply closet under the guise of “brushing you up on your first aid”, well, no one needed to know what you were really doing.


	26. Aching Ribs - Rex x Reader

“Rex, I told you, I’m fine.” You insisted, trying to resist against the hand gripping your bicep. 

It wasn’t really working.

The Captain of the 501st only rolled his eyes and carefully tightened his grip on your arm. “You were tossed nearly ten meters in that explosion. You need to get looked at.”

He was definitely right. You were pretty sure you’d broken a few ribs in that explosion, maybe even gotten yourself a concussion. But the med-bay was the last place you wanted to go. If you had it your way, you’d just go right back to work decoding transmissions. 

You didn’t think that was going to fly either.

“If I promise to rest, can we skip the med-bay?” It was a bald-faced lie, completely untrue. It was your hope that Rex would let you go back to your room and then you could sneak away and get back to work. 

Rex looked at you from the corner of his eye. He hesitated for a moment, the pair of you having reached a fork in the hallway. One path taking you to the medbay and the other leading the way to your quarters. 

You prayed to every god in the galaxy, hoping he’d take the bait. 

“I’m taking you to the med-bay first thing in the morning.” Rex said as he gently tugged you down the hall towards your room.

“Yes.” You breathed. “I’ll go willingly. I promise.”

Rex hummed but didn’t say anything. 

He definitely didn’t believe you. But hey, you had a shot at sneaking off to finish your work. You’d take it at this point.

The pair of you arrived outside of your quarters and you quickly punched in the code, wincing slightly at the increasing ache in your ribs. 

Yeah you definitely broke a few. 

“Alright. Thanks for walking me back Captain. I’ll see you first thing in the morning.” You stepped into your quarters and went to shut the door only for Rex to step inside before you could. 

You blinked. “Uh, what are you doing?”

Rex stepped closer to you and narrowed his eyes. “You really think I was going to leave you here on your own? You and I both know that as soon as I left you’d be going back to command. I’m staying to make sure you don’t leave until we go to med-bay in the morning.”

_Kriff._

He definitely read you like a book.

You sighed deeply before wincing, placing your hand on your side. Rex was watching you with a strange look.

“Fine. Make yourself comfortable. I’m going to use the ‘fresher.” You said as you grabbed a change of clothes and disappeared inside your small refresher. 

It wasn’t the easiest or quickest shower you’ve ever taken, but it did do wonders for getting all the dirt and grub off of you. Changing out of and into your clothes had been a challenge and you’d be lying if you said you didn’t almost give up and forgo changing at all. But, somehow you’d managed it. 

By the time you reemerged, Rex was sitting perched on the very edge of your small bunk, sans the top half of his armor. When he saw you emerge, he made the motion to jump up but stopped when you waved your hand.

“Stay. It’s fine. There’s not many other places to sit and if you’re going to stay here, you should at least be comfortable.” You tossed your dirty uniform on the floor before shuffling over to your bunk.

You sat down and pain instantly shot up your back. Your eyes squeezed shut and you inhaled sharply.

“I really think you should go to the med-bay.”

You bit down on your tongue and forced your eyes open. “I will go. Tomorrow. Right now I want to sleep.”

You’d given up on sneaking out to work. With Rex here, there was absolutely no chance that you’d be able to get out without him noticing. If you weren’t as injured, you may have been able to do it. But you didn’t like your chances.

Very carefully, you lowered yourself down until your head hit your pillow. You sighed in relief, feeling the pain slowly ease to just a dull ache. Your eyes started to grow heavy. 

You guessed you were more tired than you originally thought.

“I’ll wake you up in a few hours. Just get some sleep.” Rex said quietly after flicking off the light. 

You hummed, nudging his leg with your foot. “Thanks Rex.”

He shifted further back to rest his back against the wall. As he settled, you felt his hand fall lightly on your ankle and give it a squeeze.

“You’re welcome.”

You drifted to sleep with the feeling of Rex’s thumb tracing small patterns on your bare ankle, sleeping much more soundly than you ever thought possible. Maybe getting injured wasn’t the worst thing that could have happened. After all, it meant you got to spend more time with your favorite Captain. That made it all worth it.


	27. Scars - Wolffe x Reader

From the moment you’d heard that Wolffe had been injured, you’d hardly slept. 

You spent most of your time refreshing your comm messages, hoping some scrap of news would appear telling you that he was okay. All you’d heard was he’d been injured by Ventress and that was enough to plague your nightmares for days. 

You knew about her reputation. You knew what happened to clones who went up against her.

It made you sick with worry. 

And _no one was telling you anything._

No matter who you tried to reach out to, you already got the same response.

[ _“I’m sorry but you’re not authorized to receive that information.”_ ]

You nearly threw the comm unit the first time you’d been told that. And every time after that.

All you wanted was some news. But no one was telling you anything and you were ready to break into the facility he was being treated in. Regulations be damned.

You’d always been close with Wolffe. You joined the 104th not long after the incident with the _Malevolence_. Wolffe had been struggling after that and you’d done your best to help him. It wasn’t easy, especially not at first. He wasn’t as welcoming as you had expected and most of your early attempts at comfort or friendship were very promptly shut down. 

But after a while, you started to notice that he didn’t actively avoid you in the hallways. He’d show up at the end of your shift claiming coincidence (it never was) and he would walk you back to your quarters. You found yourself enjoying every moment you got to spend with him.

He was still a bit tense and rigid, but you could see the cracks in his grumpy exterior growing with every visit with you.

It wasn’t until you’d heard about his run-in with Ventress that you realized the blooming feelings in your chest were more than just friendship. At the thought of him gone, you realized how much you loved him.

And now you worried you’d never get the chance to tell him.

Until you heard he was back.

You overheard a few troopers talking in the mess about how the Commander was back. You swear your heart nearly gave out. You really couldn’t stop yourself from running up to the troopers and asking them to tell you everything they knew.

Apparently he’d just gotten back and had been cleared for duty. But the biggest shock of all had been that in his fight with Ventress he’d lost one of his eyes, it having been replaced by a cybernetic one. 

Your heart broke. You had no doubt that Wolffe hated it and would be ashamed of it. It didn’t matter to you, it never would, but you worried he might think it would bother you. 

But you could never find him.

You spent the rest of the day trying to find him aboard the flagship. He always seemed to disappear just before you arrived somewhere. Once you were pretty sure you caught a glimpse of him, but he vanished before you could call his name.

It became clear pretty quickly that he was actively avoiding you.

A few of the troopers had noticed and said they’d tell him you were looking for him, which you appreciated. But you didn’t think it would make much of a difference.

So you shuffled back off to get some work done. 

He’d come to you when he was ready.

Maybe.

Hopefully.

You were in your small closet of an office, working on some reports that General Plo had asked for. A cold cup of caff sat beside you and your eyes burned from lack of sleep. You’d long since given up on keeping your uniform regulation and instead opted for comfort, undoing the first few buttons of your top and letting your hair fall out of your bun. It wasn’t what an officer should look like, but you were too tired and heartbroken to really care.

It was ridiculously late when you heard a soft knock on your door. 

You looked up, blearily glancing at the time. “Come in.” Your voice was raspy, but you didn’t care. 

Your attention shifted back down to your data-pad. The door slid open. You figured it had to be the General, coming to get your reports. “I’ve almost got all of the reports done General. I’ll get them to you within the hour.”

But instead of General Plo, another voice responded.

“I’ll make sure to let him know.” 

You froze, your hands poised over your data-pad. Your heart pounded in your chest as you forced your eyes up. 

Wolffe was standing in your doorway, his bucket tucked under his arm. He looked the same. Standing tall and proud like he always did.

Your eyes swept over his face and fixed on his right eye that was now a milky-white color with a scar stretching over it. You felt your chin start to wobble.

Before you could stop yourself, you were pushing back out of your chair and rushing around your desk. Wolffe’s bucket hit the floor and you were in his arms seconds later. 

You’d never hugged him before.

He was always a little uneasy in that department, all the clones were really. But you’d dreamed about the first time you’d get the chance to hold him. And now you were.

And it was perfect.

Your breath hiccuped in your chest as tears freely flowed down your face. You clawed at the back of his armor and head as you pulled yourself as close to him as you could get. Your feet weren’t even on the ground anymore. Wolffe had at least not rejected your hug because his arms were wrapped tightly around you, like he was also afraid you’d disappear if he let go. 

It was heaven.

“I was so worried, Wolffe. No one would tell me anything no matter how many times I asked. I didn’t know what happened or where you were or if you’d even pull through. Don’t ever do that to me again.” You were rambling now, all your fears from the last few weeks tumbling out before you could stop them. 

You felt one of Wolffe’s gloved hands weave into your knotted hair. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

You buried your face in his shoulder. “It’s okay. You’re here now and I’m never, ever letting go again.”

He tensed beneath you. “There’s something you need to know.”

You squeezed your eyes closed. “Wolffe, I know. A few of the troopers told me about what happened to your eye and I don’t care. I love you and that will never change, scar or not.”

You felt his breath hitch in his chest and you squeezed him before pulling back. Your feet landed on the floor. Wolffe’s head was bowed, turned away from you. His hands were fisted in your uniform, but it was clear he didn’t want you to see. 

You slid your hands from his neck to gently hold the sides of his face. The scar that now stretched across his face was more prominent now that you were closer, but you still didn’t care. Wolffe was still Wolffe. A scar didn’t change that. 

You brushed your thumb across his scar and he inhaled sharply. You were pretty sure no one had touched it so gently since he got it. Without thinking, you gently pulled his head towards you, pressing your lips to the edge of his scar on his cheekbone. 

Wolffe was trembling under your fingertips. You kissed over his eye. 

“You’re still you, scar or not. And I love you Wolffe. That’ll never change.”

You were fully prepared for him to walk away. You’d never talked about your feelings or his. It was something you could feel brewing for months, but you were too afraid to say something. 

But now it didn’t matter. You’d never forgive yourself if you didn’t tell him. No matter what he said in return. You had to tell him. His injury reminded you of how easily you both could be killed fighting in this war. You were done waiting. 

“But-” Wolffe’s voice was quieter than you’d ever heard it before and it shook. His eyes were still squeezed shut and your heart was breaking for him. “-why me.”

A soft smile spread across your face as you brushed your thumb against his cheekbone. “Because you’re you. And to me you’re one of a kind.”

He took a shaky breath before slowly opening his eyes. You met his gaze and refused to look away. 

“I’ll always be here for you. No matter what Wolffe.” 

Wolffe’s eyes scanned your face. You knew it would be a while before he fully accepted what had happened to him, but you weren’t giving up on him. And besides, you still thought he was the most handsome man you’d ever seen before.

“Can - can I kiss you?” Wolffe asked, voice small.

Your chest warmed as you smiled at him. You leaned forward and pressed another kiss to his scarred cheek. 

“I’d like nothing more.”

Wolffe didn’t hesitate. And he never did ever again. Never with you.


	28. Distractions - Kix x Reader

You’d gotten the comm from Jesse not long after the troops returned from their mission. 

Apparently everything had gone fairly okay, but there had been a few injuries. One of them being Kix. Who unlike the other troopers who’d gotten hurt decided that because he was a medic he could forgo getting medical care.

Which is where you came in.

You wrapped up the transmissions you were decoding and quickly made your way down to the med-bay. Jesse had told you that everyone had been tended to and he’d make sure the med-bay was empty when you got there.

You didn’t like his implications, but you knew Kix would prefer no one else saw him getting treated, so you took it at face value.

Sure enough, when you walked into the med-bay it was empty except for Kix who was sitting on a bed in the back corner of the room. He was trying to clean out the blaster shot on his arm through his shirt. 

It’s like he was trying to make things difficult for you.

“Take it off.” Your voice carried across the empty med-bay and caught his attention immediately. His head snapped up, wide eyes meeting yours. You walked closer as he remained frozen. You tugged the curtain closed. “Or I will.”

Kix blinked at you. “Does it have to be an either or situation?”

You tilted your head to the side and crossed your arms. He sighed before beginning to tug his blacks over his head. 

You ended up having to help him get it the rest of the way off because of his arm, but he was too busy wincing to say anything else snippy. You pulled on a pair of gloves and began picking your way through the small medkit sitting beside him.

“I didn’t know you knew how to do this.” Kix said as you began cleaning around where he’d gotten clipped by a blaster. 

You shrugged. “Considering my medic boyfriend doesn’t like getting medical attention, I figured it was a good skill to learn. Besides, I can’t just rely on my wicked sense of humor and charming good looks.”

He hummed in response, but remained silent as you finished cleaning out and around the wound and carefully began wrapping it. Kix, despite his initial reluctance, kept quiet and let you wrap up his arm. 

When you finished, you pulled off the gloves and tossed them in the nearby trash. You turned back to Kix who was grinning up at you dopily. 

“What?” You chuckled. “I didn’t even give you a stim, which I probably should.” 

You turned to go find a stim when Kix caught your hand. You turned back to him with a confused look splashed across your face.

“I don’t need a stim.”

You sighed. “Kix-”

“-kiss it better?” 

All the fight brewing in your chest released in an instant. He was deflecting. He needed that stim shot but he was trying to distract you. You really shouldn’t give in. 

But when did you ever do what you were supposed to?

You rolled your eyes before leaning forward and pressing your lips to his now bandaged shoulder. You let yourself linger for a moment, enjoying Kix’s slight inhale of breath at the contact.

You stood back up again to look at Kix who had a slightly dazed look in his eyes. “Ya know, I got hit on my mouth too.”

Your eyebrows raised as he smirked. “Oh really?

“Promise. Medic’s honor.” He said and you rolled your eyes again. 

“You’re lucky I like you.” You didn’t even give him a chance to respond, pressing your lips against his. He groaned almost immediately, mouth opening against yours. His arms circled around your waist and tugged you closer. 

When he pulled on you, you stumbled slightly. But Kix was right there to catch you and haul you up and onto the bed. Your knees rested on the soft covers on either side of Kix’s lap. 

It was an awkward angle, but you didn’t care one bit. 

You forced yourself to pull away when you felt Kix’s hands slip underneath the back of your shirt. 

“Kix, you’re injured.” You gasped, heart thundering in your chest as he ignored you and instead dragged his lips down the side of your neck. 

“I’ll be fine.” He pressed an open mouthed kiss against your collarbone and you inhaled sharply. His hands continued their journey, one snaking up and trailing your spine while the other slid across your stomach and went _further down._

You actually gasped at the sudden contact, stomach flipping and insides lighting on fire. Kix smirked against your throat. 

“I’ve got my favorite nurse right here, what more could I need?” He breathed and you bit down _hard_ on your lip.

Your head fell to rest against his head. “That’s Officer nurse to you.”

A deep rumble grew in Kix’s chest as he clamped down around you. With a strength you hadn’t expected, he spun, pinning you down beneath him on the rickety old bed. 

He leaned down and kissed you again, his hand already edging the bottom of your shirt up. 

_“Yes ma’am.”_


	29. Stargazing - Rex x Reader

Quiet moments were rare as a member of the GAR. 

Often you would have a hard time finding a spot that was far enough away from the buzz of the bases or the hum of the ships. Most of the time, you didn’t mind. Hearing the men laughing in the mess or listening to their intense sabacc games helped remind you why you had volunteered in the first place. 

The men of the 501st were like your family. And you would do anything for them.

But, like traditional families, sometimes you wanted to strangle every single one of them.

Which is why you found a spot just off base that was quiet and away from the noise. The planet you were on reminded you of your home and it nagged at your gut. You missed your home and the war was starting to take a toll. 

You needed some time alone to sort out your feelings. 

You tightened your jacket around your shoulders and curled up a little tighter against the large rock you were leaning against. Your head thumped softly against it as you leaned back and stared up at the stars twinkling above you. 

There was a whole galaxy out there. And you were doing your part to keep it safe.

That caused a small smile to spread across your face.

“Oh, Officer. I didn’t realize you’d be out here.” You turned in surprise to see Captain Rex standing not far from you. His bucket was tucked under his arm and he was shifting back and forth on his feet. “I’ll leave you be.”

“Wait!” You’re not sure why you jumped in. But it looked like Rex needed a friend more than you needed the alone time. “I don’t mind if you stay.”

He hesitated, looking like he was trying to decide what he was going to do. You decided to help him along by shifting a bit over and patting the ground beside you.

Rex let out a breath before stepping forward and slumping to the ground beside you. He let out a breath, setting his bucket down next to him. You offered him a smile before turning and looking back up at the stars.

You and Rex were friends, or at least you liked to think you were friends. The pair of you didn’t talk all that often, but you enjoyed the conversations you did have with him. He was a good man and someone you thought that you could grow close with if given the chance. Plus you worked together a lot and you appreciate him and all he does to keep the 501st running smoothly. Maker knows that’s the toughest job in the GAR with General Skywalker in charge.

His fingers drummed nervously on his thigh-plate and you sighed, trying to think of something to say or if you should say something at all. 

“Credit for your thoughts?” Is what you eventually decided on. 

Rex seemed surprised, if the quick pivot of his head told you anything. He cleared his throat and looked back up at the stars.

“Just thinkin’.” He huffed. You felt a smile creeping up on your face.

“‘Just thinkin’ huh?” You said and he didn’t respond. “Well, then I guess I’ll tell you what I’m thinking. I came out here because I needed to get away and remember why I was fighting.” 

You felt Rex tense slightly beside you, but he didn’t say anything. “This war has taken a lot from all of us. We’ve had a few rough campaigns and I love the boys, really I do, but sometimes I need some space. I like finding a place where I can look at the stars because it reminds me that each one of those lights in the sky is a place that we’re working to protect.” You paused a moment. “I’m not sure when the war will end, but I’d like to think that one day we’d all be able to look up at those stars and now that we did everything we could to make the galaxy a safe place to live again.”

You fell into an easy silence. Your eyes continued to scan the stars as the air grew cooler. You tucked your hands into your pockets as you drew your knees to your chest. 

“I didn’t use to think about the future.” Rex speaking had you jumping slightly. You hadn’t expected him to talk, but you turned towards him and rested your head against your knees as you listened.

“When I was a cadet on Kamino, I used to wonder what it would be like on another planet. Then when I left, it was amazing. I’ve seen so many planets and met so many different species that are all completely different in their customs. As a clone, we really don’t belong anywhere and for a long time, I was okay with that.” Rex sighed. “But after our time on Saleucami, I realized that I never thought about what would happen after the war. I never thought I’d live to see it and I was okay with that. But now I wonder what kind of life I could have.”

“Do you know what you want to do? If you do anything.”

His golden eyes still drifted up, scanning the stars. “I’m not sure. I’d like to think I’d maybe settle down on a planet, like Naboo, and just live a quiet life.”

“That sounds really nice Captain.” 

“Rex.” He said. “Please call me Rex.”

You smiled softly. “Alright. Rex. Why Naboo?”

He shrugged. “Of all the planets I’ve been to, it feels the most peaceful. What about you? What would you do?”

You sighed. “Honestly, I’m not sure. I think my family would like me to go back, but now that I’ve gotten the chance to see the galaxy, I’m not sure I could ever be happy there. At least not long term. Part of me would like to settle somewhere new, experience a new culture and learn everything I could.” 

“What about Naboo?” 

Rex’s words had your heart thumping in your chest. You met his gaze and felt your mouth go dry. 

“Naboo seems like a wonderful place to do just that.” You finally managed to say. The corner of Rex’s mouth quirked up as he turned to look back up at the stars. 

You finally dragged your eyes away from the harsh, but kind, lines of his face and forced yourself to look up at the stars. It really was a beautiful night out.

“For what it’s worth Rex, I hope you get the quiet life you want after the war ends. If anyone deserves it, it’s you.” 

“Thank you (Y/N).” 

You really liked the way he said your name. 

Without thinking about what it might mean, you scooted the last few inches separating the two of you and let your head drop onto his shoulder, keeping your eyes trained on the sky. To Rex’s credit, he didn’t flinch. In fact, you felt his cheek press against the top of your head. 

The future has always been a mystery to you. A mystery you hadn’t really thought about trying to solve. 

But sitting next to Rex, staring up at the stars, you started to think that maybe, just maybe you wanted to find out what your future might hold. Especially if that future involved the man sitting beside you. 

That was a future you were excited to live.


	30. Brighter - Kix x Reader

The first time you saw Kix, it was on a battlefield.

You were hunched over a fallen trooper, frantically trying to patch him up as the battle raged around you. A shell landed not far from you, forcing you to throw yourself on top of the trooper as you were both bathed in a coating of debris. The second the ground stopped shaking, you were back to treating his blaster wound.

There was a shout near you and you looked up.

That’s when you saw him. 

He was also kneeling over a trooper, his helmeted head constantly looking over his shoulder as the droids continued to get closer. Neither of you had much more time left before you would be forced to evacuate. Smoke was rising from the ground, curling around the broken streets and fallen droids. 

There was an explosion nearby and you were forced to turn back to the trooper beneath you. You covered his wound in bandages and wrapped it as best you could, the sounds of droids only getting closer. The trooper was starting to stir and you risked a glance behind you, seeing a half dozen super battle droids rounding the corner and raising their arms. 

That’s when the medic appeared again in your field of vision.

His hand clamped on your shoulder. “We need to move him now! Grab his legs!”

There was no room for hesitation from either of you, so you did exactly as he said. As you rose, the trooper dangling between you, blaster shots exploded around you. You ducked your head, but didn’t let go, following him through the rubble as shots chased after you. 

One blaster shot would be all it took to take you out. And your back was to them.

You wouldn’t even see it coming.

By some miracle of the Force, neither of you ended up injured or hit.

The pair of you made it back behind the line and were able to safely deposit the trooper in their makeshift medbay.

You had a moment of peace among the chaos, leaning against a surprisingly empty bed as your eyes drifted closed. A breath shuddered in your chest as the ache in your bones settled from such a long and taxing day. You could feel your adrenaline fading fast and with it came a deep sense of exhaustion. 

The voices of the injured troopers and other medics around you faded to a dull roar. You allowed yourself one last second to just breathe before forcing your eyes open.

Through the hustle and bustle of the med-bay, you met eyes with the medic from earlier across the room. 

Time seemed to stand still for a moment.

You’re not sure why everything seemed to freeze the instant you met his kind gaze. His nose wrinkled as a small smile curled at the edge of his mouth. A warm feeling spread across your chest as you allowed yourself to live in a second of selfish time. 

There was a shout from somewhere to your left and you instinctively looked. 

The moment was broken and you were pulled away to help a trooper with a simple broken arm. You had almost forgotten about the stolen second with the other medic. At least that was until you met his gaze again, a smile spreading across your face when he offered you a simple nod that had your stomach flipping. 

After that day, you found that you didn’t share many shifts with the other medic. All the information you knew about him you’d gathered from other medics who had given you a sly grin but released the information regardless.

_Kix._

You thought the name suited him. 

It wasn’t until a quiet late night in the med-bay that you even saw him again. 

You were deep in the supply room, stacking the recent shipment of bacta patches in the quiet room. You didn’t hear the door open, so when you heard him appear behind you, a snarky _“You come here often?”_ dripping off his lips, it nearly scared you out of your wits. 

He’d gotten a kick out of that, his laughter peeling off the walls of the durasteel room. 

You did have to admit, you’d let him keep sneaking up on you like that if it meant you got to hear his laugh again. 

From that night on, you became fast friends. 

Kix was kind and loved to laugh. He was thoughtful in everything he did and was always quick to help others. Your friendship was easy and the pair of you worked remarkably well together, meshing seamlessly in everything you did.

You were a dream team. Working together wonderfully and finding companionship in another that was simple, easy.

This shifted between you after a rough battle for Kix.

You weren’t there on Umbara, but you’d read the report. Your heart had broken a million times over when you learned about what had happened. No one deserved to be treated like property, like they were less than, least of all the clones. They were some of the kindest, sweetest, bravest, and most unique men that you knew. 

They didn’t deserve this. 

Kix had been on your mind the entire time you were away from the 501st, but it was like your heart had shattered into a million pieces when you thought about what he went through on that planet. 

It wasn’t until another week that you were finally able to see him again. 

You’d been back with the 501st for days, but due to conflicting schedules and missed opportunities; you kept missing each other. 

The med-bay was empty, you being the only one on shift for a quiet night traveling through hyperspace. You didn’t mind. You enjoyed the quiet. 

You were completing paperwork when the door slinked open behind you. You set down your datapad, clicking it off as you stood and brushed off your uniform. Turning around, you felt your heart stutter in your chest when you saw Kix standing there. 

He looked tired, his shoulders slumped and dark circles resided under his eyes. He was missing the top half of his armor, but despite the freedom, he looked tense. You could see the shadows of what happened on Umbara etched into his face, clouding his once sparkling eyes. 

“You come here often?” Kix spoke softly, barely loud enough for you to hear. His voice was raspy and showed a lack of use, which worried you.

But you couldn’t stop the snort of laughter that slipped past your lips. You tried to stifle it just as quickly, but gave up when you saw a ghost of a smile stretch across his face.

You stepped forward, boots clicking against the floor as you approached Kix. 

You stopped not far from him. Kix tensed when you approached, but his eyes were fixed on you. Without hesitating, you reached forward and clasped his hand in yours. His palm was calloused, catching against your own callouses from years of medical work. His fingers closed around yours and you felt the sparks skim up your arm when he squeezed your hand. 

Feeling braver than you’ve ever felt, you took another step closer, your toes bumping against his. Kix was frozen in front of you, but you could hear his breathing quicken. You lifted your hand and strengthening your nerves before placing it on his cheek. 

Instantly Kix’s eyes closed, his whole body relaxing at your touch. You brushed your thumb under his eye and smiled softly. 

“It’s okay. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.” You spoke softly, voice barely traveling the distance. 

Kix’s golden eyes opened, fixing on you. He smiled, the sparkle finally reaching his eyes. His hand slipped for yours, but he only pulled you closer. His forehead knocked against yours and you let yourself melt into the embrace. 

Kix bumped his nose against yours and your eyes opened slightly. “May I?” 

Your stomach dropped somewhere around your feet, heart thudding in your chest. Warmth spread across your chest and nothing had ever felt more right.

“I’d be mad if you didn’t.” You breathed and he laughed, the sound brightening the empty room. 

Without much more fanfare, Kix tipped his head forward, mouth slanting against your own. His lips were chapped and he seemed a little lost at first. But you didn’t care and with a nudge of your head, Kix slipped into the motions faster than you could have imagined. Feelings of warmth overwhelmed all of your senses and you let yourself get lost in the man in front of you, the one who was always by your side and made you laugh in a way no one else did. You’d never felt this way about anyone, but with him it was easy. 

With Kix, your life was just a little bit brighter.


	31. Battlestations - Rex x Reader

Things had been quiet aboard the _Resolute._

While the ship hasn’t technically been on leave, it had been a few rotations since it had seen any action. And even though it gave the men some much needed breathing room and a chance to just _kinda-sorta_ relax somewhere near the Outer Rim. 

Despite the men getting a much deserved break, you found yourself busier than ever.

Those inventory reports and briefings for the GAR high command weren’t going to do themselves. That being said, you hardly had any time to spend with a certain Captain. Besides a few stolen moments early in the morning and late at night, you’d hardly seen him. He was busy running through some training with the men and catching up on his own reports while you practically lived on the Bridge.

It wasn’t ideal considering the still fledging status of your relationship, but both of you care deeply about your jobs. And at the moment, those took priority. Besides, you enjoyed the small moments you were able to share. You wished they were longer, as did Rex, but you’d take what you could get.

And the added fact that no one knew about your relationship and you could both get in serious, serious trouble meant that you were careful. _Extremely_ careful.

Presently, you were making the long walk from the loading bay back to the Bridge with a manifest report on your data-pad. 

You’re not sure why you had to make the walk when it was easier to send it through the holonet, but you were getting the chance to stretch your legs. You’d enjoy it while it lasted.

You were flipping through the pages upon pages of inventory reports, feeling your eyes starting to go crosseyed. A few troopers passed you along the way and you always smiled at them when they would salute or greet you as they passed. 

You had just rounded the corner into a quieter hallway when you heard a door slink open near you. 

A hand wound around the curve of your elbow and _yanked_. Your noise of surprise was muffled by the sound of the door closing behind you, leaving you in absolute darkness.

“Wha-” You gasped, your heart pounding in your chest. 

“Shh, it’s just me.”

All of the clones had the same voice, but over the last two years, you’d come to be able to tell the difference.

The sound of Rex’s voice instantly calmed you, allowing you to let out a sigh of relief. You gave him a shove. 

“What the kriff was that for?” 

Rex’s low chuckle filled the room as he slipped the data-pad through your fingers, setting it on a nearby shelf of the tiny storage closet he’d yanked you into.

“I missed you.” 

You felt your face warm as you lovingly rolled your eyes. “We had breakfast together this morning.”

“But that was hours ago.” Rex said, moving closer and winding his arms around you. Instinctively, you wrapped your arms around his shoulders, the feeling of his fingers dancing across your spine sending your stomach in a tizzy. 

“You do realize I’m due back on the Bridge in-” you looked at your comm unit on your wrist, “-ten minutes and it’s at least a five minute walk.”

His nose bumped against yours. “Then I guess we better hurry.”

In the next second, your back was against the wall, Rex’s lips on your own. His head nudged against your own, forcing you out of your shock and into action. You clawed at his armor, trying to pull yourself even impossibly closer. 

In all of your quiet moments with Rex, things had never been this intense. Sure things got a little heated from time to time, but this was something else entirely. Maybe it was the time crunch. Maybe it was the small, enclosed space. Or maybe it was the fact that you could get caught so easily that had your head spinning.

Either way, you were going to enjoy every single second of this.

You’d be stupid not to.

Rex’s lips abruptly detached from yours, causing you to gasp loudly at the sudden need for air. Your breath hitched in your throat when his lips dragged across your jaw and began to travel further down.

“Rex.” Your voice was breathier than you had expected and he seemed to like it because you could hear his hum of approval against your pulse point. His fingers tugged at the top hook of your uniform.

“ _Relax._ ” He whispered, his breath dancing across your now exposed collarbone. “We’ve got time.”

You’d never tell Admiral Yularen the real reason why you were ten minutes late. 

You could barely look him in the eye when you told him you’d stopped to help a new trooper find his way. Thankfully, he only gave you a withering look before taking the data-pad and announcing his next job for you, pointedly ignoring your slightly mused hair.

And when Rex walked in a few minutes later, his bucket firmly on his head, you felt a thrill of pride. 

He wanted to play dirty. Two could play at that game.

When you knew he was looking in your direction and everyone else’s attention was elsewhere, you shot him a quick wink and a smile. The slight tensing of his shoulder was enough to know that he’d gotten the hint.

It was on.

And you were determined to win this one.

_Battlestations Captain._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> visit me on tumblr @snippy-tano
> 
> requests are open!


	32. Home - Fives x Reader

It wasn’t often you had the chance to wake up in Fives’ arms, but the mornings you did you always made sure to take advantage of it.

He’d gotten in late, sometime after you’d already fallen asleep. Apparently he’d gotten a little held up, but commed you around midnight to tell you to not wait up and that he’d be there eventually. You’d tried to stay up, but sleep was a much more powerful force. 

You’d half woken up when he arrived, the bed dipping beside you. Your hand had met something solid and you were entangled in his arms moments later. After that, you drifted back off immediately, finally in the arms of the man you loved. 

Sunlight shone through the cracks in your blinds, bathing your closed eyelids in hues of yellow and orange. You tried shifting your head to avoid the bright light, but nothing seemed to work. With a huff, you squeezed your eyes tighter and rolled over. 

Fives hummed next to you, lifting his arm so you could shift. It was only after you had thrown a leg over his, placed your hand over his heart, and buried your face in the crook of his neck that he settled his arm back around you, palm resting between your shoulder blades. 

You let out a contented sigh, feeling his heart thumping beneath your hand and smelling the faint scent of your own soap against his skin. He absentmindedly traced circles against your back and you feel yourself drifting back off to sleep. 

“G’morning.” Fives mumbled, still just as tired and groggy as you felt. 

“Mornin’” You replied, letting your breathing sync up with his. 

“Missed you.” Fives seemed insistent on talking even though he slurred through most of his words.

You smiled softly. “I missed you too.”

You both fell silent again, just living in the moment you so rarely got to enjoy. Fives continued to trace patterns across your back, his fingertips mapping each and every bump in your spine. You inhaled sharply when his fingertips met the small expanse of exposed skin at your lower back. 

Fives chuckled softly beneath you. 

“Ya know.” You hummed. “For someone still half asleep, you have a lot of nerve.”

“‘M not half asleep. Watch.” He insisted before tilting his head and angling it down towards you. 

He kissed the bridge of your nose. 

“Ah kriff.”

Just below your eye. 

“Son of a-“

Your eyebrow.

“You’ve gotta be-“

You finally took pity on him, tilting your face up to him. 

He landed home. 

_Home._

Home has always been a strange concept for you. It was never really a place. You moved around a lot growing up, so home meant something else to you than most. You found a home in the people you surround yourself with. 

Your friends. Your family. 

_Fives._

Fives became a piece of your home the day he came crashing into your life. He worked his way into your orbit and never left, not that you were complaining. 

When Fives was gone, home felt a little darker, a little lonelier. 

But when he was around, it was like nothing else you ever experienced. 

Fives pulled away, but his nose and lips still brushed against yours. “I love you.”

You smiled. “I love you too.”

He kissed you again, lazy and slow but you could feel the promise of more, of a lifetime just hidden behind mutterings and chapped lips. You’d chase that promise until the ends of the Galaxy if it meant a lifetime of waking up just like this. To incoherent thoughts and morning breath. To warm beds and lazy days.

He pulled away, tucking his head against yours. Fives wrapped his hand around yours that rested against his chest, intertwining your fingers. 

And together you drifted back off into oblivion, knowing that when you woke, you’d be home again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> visit me on tumblr @snippy-tano
> 
> requests are open!!


	33. Sparring - Cody x Reader

Due to the 212th’s reputation, the _Negotiator_ was often found traveling across the width of the galaxy every other day. Or at least it felt that way. 

This meant everyone aboard had a lot of time to kill while in hyperspace. 

In the beginning, You often would either sit in a small corner of the ship with the blues of hyperspace as a background reading mission specs or would meditate to help center yourself in the Force. Sometimes you’d spar with Master Kenobi or Ahsoka if she happened to be visiting. But for the most part, in the beginning anyway, you kept to yourself.

As time continued to pass however, you found yourself growing closer to the men you fought side-by-side with. Most specifically Commander Cody who became one of your closest friends. On the days you seemed particularly bored (and were avoiding some of your tedious readings), some of the men would drag you to the barracks for “bonding” and it was in these long trips that they taught you sabacc (only to instantly regret it when none of them could ever beat you).

Once the men were tired of losing at sabacc to you (and ran out of credits), they started having sparring matches as a way to keep up on their close-combat training. You were always the ref, but they rarely needed you to intervene.

Rarely, but it did still happen on occasion. 

Boil’s back hit the mat hard and Waxer was quick to throw himself on his brother to pin him to the mat. The rest of the men watching cheered them on and you grinned. After you counted to three, Waxer released Boil with a groan. Commander Cody stepped forward and helped Boil to his feet. 

“You alright there Boil?” You asked, noticing him clutching his ribs. 

“Yeah, just sore.” He said, running his hand across his forehead. You turned to Wooley who was busy faux-punching at Waxer. 

“Hey Wooley, would you take Boil to the med-bay and have them run some scans to make sure he didn’t break anything? Just in case.” You asked and the trooper nodded.

“Come on _vod_ , let’s get you checked out.” Wooley wrapped an arm around Boil and started steering him towards the door.

They exited first and were quickly followed by the rest of the men, all heading for the showers. You turned around to see Cody still in the small training room, picking up a few discarded pieces of tape.

“So, is there a reason you don’t participate in these sparring matches?” You asked as you strode closer to Cody who only chuckled lightly.

“It’s important that I am able to see the men fight so I can help them keep improving.” He said as he tossed the tape into the small garbage bin against the wall. 

You raised your eyebrows.

“And it wouldn’t be fair to them.”

“Oh I see, you’re much too good for them and don’t want to bruise their egos.” You teased and Cody smiled, his teeth flashing in the light as a spark of mischief danced in his eyes.

“Exactly.” He spoke firmly and it was your turn to grin.

“What about me?” 

“Uh-General?” 

You turned and started walking to the mat. You’d already taken off your outer robes and was just in your boots, pants, and compression top. You slipped off your belt with your saber and set them aside before turning back to Cody with your hands on your hips. “If you’re so good, it should be easy to beat me.”

Cody narrowed his eyes.

He knew you were baiting him.

He was a clone commander, a Marshal Commander at that, and had skills that you didn’t have since this was what he was born for. He was also much larger than you and therefore had a strength that you’d never have. 

But he wasn’t a Jedi. 

“Alright.” Cody said, reaching behind him and yanking off the top of his blacks. “I’ll bite.”

You shook out your shoulders and let yourself settle into a ready stance. You forced your eyes to remain locked with Cody’s as much as your gaze wanted to travel downwards. You weren’t sure why you were reacting the way you were. You’d seen all of the men sans their blacks; it was the nature of practically living with seven grown men on one ship for months.

And this was Cody for kriff’s sake.

But there was something about the idea of fighting hand to hand with your Commander, whom you were close to, that had your stomach twisting. 

You forced the strange feeling down around your ankles and made yourself focus. Cody had taken up at the edge of the mat across from you, also stooping into a ready stance. 

“You sure about this General?” Cody asked with a grin.

You let out a breathy laugh. “Are you sure you’re ready to lose?”

Cody shook his head and then the spar started. He charged, swinging high. You ducked under his arm, delivering a quick jab to his side and kicking out the back of his knee. His knee hit the mat and you used that time to dart away.

Your Commander climbed to his feet. You grinned at him and gestured to him to come closer. Cody laughed, but charged again. 

This time, the pair of you were a flurry of blows. 

You managed to land quite a few on Cody, earning some grunts of pain. He also managed to nail you a few times, once even nearly knocking the wind out of you. You’d be feeling this tomorrow, that was certain.

Cody was bigger and much stronger than you were. And despite him being faster than most, You were even faster. You used your size to your advantage and kept yourself out of reach of his attacks. Jedi reflexes came in handy that way.

Until they didn’t.

Cody’s arm snapped out to grab your arm and twisted it behind you. You let out a cry as he wrapped his other arm around your waist and pulled you into him. Your back hit his chest and he held on, despite you trying to pull away.

“Gotcha.” Cody’s breath in your ear sent your heart into your throat. You were painfully aware of the fact that he was definitely not wearing a shirt and you didn’t know why that was affecting you the way it was.

But you weren't about to lose. 

You wrapped one of your legs behind Cody’s and snapped up your free arm for your elbow to catch the side of his face. He faltered for a second, but it was long enough for you to free your own arm, grab his, and throw him over your shoulder.

His back hit the mat and you pounced, using the few precious seconds of disorientation you knew you’d bought with that move. Cody was coughing from the air being knocked out of his lungs and didn’t have time to react to you throwing your leg over his hips, pinning his arms to the mat.

You were breathing hard as you looked down at your Commander. A bruise was forming on his cheek and he was just as out of breath as you were, a sheen of sweat covering his golden chest. 

“I win.” You gasped out, your voice seemingly failing when you again realized what kind of precarious situation you’d put herself in. 

You stopped breathing when Cody’s intense gaze flickered down to your mouth before meeting your eyes again. He started closing the already minuscule distance between you and you couldn’t find any reason to move. 

So you didn’t.

Without warning, Cody _pushed_ his hips upward, knocking you off balance. Your hands were forced off of Cody’s arms and smacked the mat beside his head as your chest hit his. The next second, he was grabbing your hips and flipping you over.

It was your turn to be thrown to the mat and your back hit the ground with a thud. You felt Cody’s weight settle between your legs and in the next moment, he had your wrists pinned above your head. 

This time you really couldn’t breathe.

Your skin felt like it was on fire and your heart felt like it was going to beat out of your chest. His breath was coming out in short huffs and he was close enough that you could feel it brush against your cheeks. 

“Gotcha again.” His voice had dropped _three_ octaves and it sent a jolt right through you.

“You got me.” You breathed, your heart stuttering in your chest when again, Cody’s gaze flickered down to your lips.

Except this time, they stayed locked there. You held your breath as he slowly leaned closer until you could feel his breath on your mouth.

Your eyes slipped closed without even realizing what you were doing. Your chest tightened when you felt his lips brush against yours. You let out a small groan of frustration at the almost contact and then his mouth was slanting against yours. 

You inhaled deeply, your body instinctively lifting and curving against his. His hand released your wrists and you were quick to wrap your arms around his shoulders and pull him as close as you could. One of his hands slid down the curve of your side before settling against your hip, clutching you like you were his lifeline. 

You opened your mouth to him as you wove a hand into his hair. His chest rumbled against yours when you scratched against his scalp and you filed it away for later.

_Later. Would there even be a later?_

Cody pulled back abruptly and you gasped at the lack of contact.

“I-” Cody stumbled. “-I don’t know what came over me. I’m sorry.”

Your throat burned. “I see.”

You couldn’t help the disappointment that crept into your voice. You knew that you shouldn’t have done that due to your status of being a Jedi forbidden from attachments, but when it happened, you couldn’t imagine not doing it. You had already felt a deep connection to your Commander. You never would have thought about kissing him like you just were, but now that it has happened? 

You didn’t want to stop.

Subconsciously, your hand that was wound in Cody’s hair tightened. He groaned, looking away from you. For a second, you thought you’d done something wrong, so you went to pull your hand away.

“Don’t.” Cody’s voice caused you to freeze. His gaze shifted back to you, trapping you in place yet again. “Are you sure?” 

You were sure. Completely and utterly. 

To show him how sure you were, you _pulled_ his head back down towards you, letting your mouths meet in another heated embrace. 

You were floating. Absolutely _nothing_ could bring you down.

“Well this is unexpected.” A voice off to your left caused you to pull back abruptly, smacking your head against the mat.

You turned to see Waxer standing in the now open door to their small reserved training room. Cody tensed above you and you couldn’t seem to find your voice.

“I was going to check in because I hadn’t seen you leave, but I can see you are definitely busy. Don’t let me stop you. Just - make sure you clean up.” Waxer said before turning and walking away, the door sliding shut behind him.

You let your head hit the mat again as you squeezed your eyes shut. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

Cody let his head fall forward, his forehead resting against the side of your neck. His breath tickled the slope of your collarbone and you forced yourself to keep breathing.

You knew that was going to spread like wildfire through the men. You were also pretty sure you’d never be able to look any of your men in the eye ever again. Let alone your Master if he ever found out. 

You were royally screwed.

“Well, no one is going to be bothering us any more.” Cody said and you opened your eyes in time to see him swooping down again, kissing you soundly.

Yeah. You could _definitely_ get used to this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> visit me on tumblr @snippy-tano
> 
> requests are open!!


	34. Future Plans - Rex x Reader

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All rights to Lucasfilms and Disney.
> 
> Plot is mine!!

It had been a long day.

A long few months really, but today especially. The war was really starting to drag morale down with its icy grip. The day had been filled with maneuvers, mucking about in knee high mud with rain pelting the troops all day. 

It had been miserable. 

You were one of the few civilian officers with the 501st. Mostly because they operated pretty well on their own, but mostly due to the fact that not many civilians meshed well with the unconventional battalion. You were an outlier in that case, blending well with the chaos that was the 501st.

But, like with any job, there were moments you didn’t like. Namely the backwater planets you were sent to and forced to trudge through. This one you were presently on included.

You were pretty sure your socks would never dry out and the mud would be permanently caked on your skin. Dirt had buried itself under your nails and your hair had long fallen out of your standardized style, weighed down by the rain and mud. You wanted nothing more than to go someplace warm, take a scalding shower, and put on clean clothes.

However that was a pipe dream. You’d just arrived on this planet and you’d be here for as long as it took to stop the Separatist grip that was crushing the planet. It would be a hard few weeks, but you had faith the boys would be able to turn it around. 

You finally were relieved from your shift at the gunships where you had been overseeing the unloading of supplies. It had finally stopped pouring about a half an hour ago, which was just enough time for your uniform to dry crusty and the mud to begin flaking off your skin. 

With a wave to your replacement, you shuffled off through the softened ground towards the mess tent. You were starving and figured getting something to eat should be first on your list. You weren’t even sure if the showers had been set up yet. You hoped by the time you finished eating they would be. 

When you arrived, you found the mess tent to be nearly full. A quick glance at your wrist told you that it was right in the middle of the standard nightly mealtime. With a sigh, you grabbed yourself a few things to eat and disappeared back out of the tent, the flap swinging shut behind you. 

The sun had started to set, which meant that a chill began to settle over the camp. Still, you pushed on, heading for the edge of camp. You found a small area near the edge of a ravine. There was a large rock underneath an even larger tree, meaning there was a small patch of dry ground. You sat down with a huff, back settling against the cool rock. With a sigh, you dug into your rationed food, chewing mindlessly. 

The last edge of the sun was just disappearing over the horizon when you heard someone approaching from behind. You quickly swallowed the biscuit you were eating, coughing when it caught in your throat. 

A trooper appeared in your field of vision and you tried to scramble to your feet. 

“No. Don’t get up. We’re both off-duty.”

You coughed one more time, voice rasping. “Captain.”

Captain Rex shook his head as he sat down with a sigh beside you, balancing two cups of caf in his hands. “Please. We’re off-duty. It’s just Rex.”

He held out a cup and you glanced down at it before taking it from him, ignoring the rush of heat you felt when your hand brushed against his. 

“Thanks.” You replied, gripping the warm cup between your freezing hands. 

You both fell silent, instead choosing to watch the last of the golden rays of the sun stretch across the world you were brought here to save. The river in front of you bubbling and flowing, blocking out the sounds of the military camp not far behind you. 

You two have done this before, shared a quiet moment away from the camp. It was always the favorite part of your day. It was a moment where you could imagine that there wasn’t a war raging. A moment you could spend with someone you considered a friend. Someone you enjoyed spending time with.

“Long day huh?” Rex said, startling you slightly.

You cleared your throat. “Yeah. And we’re just getting started.”

Rex scoffed. “Don’t remind me.”

You smiled softly, risking a glance over at Rex as he let his eyes scan the pink skies. You took a page out of his book and leaned further against the rock, watching the sky shift and change colors as night began to take hold. 

Your shift had just ended, but you would be expected back soon. Someone had to be there while camp was getting set up and you knew the manifest lists better than anyone.

“Do you ever think about what you’d do after the war?” 

The question caught you off guard, but if Rex noticed, he didn’t react. You looked back down at the cooling cup in your hands, fingers picking at the edge. You’d talked about a lot of different things before. Your favorite bolo-ball teams, favorite foods, favorite cheesy holo-dramas. But this was uncharted territory. This was new.

“Not really. Part of me thinks this war is never going to end and another part of me isn’t sure I want it to.”

You saw Rex turn to you out of the corner of your eye. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t mean that I want the suffering the Separatists are causing to continue, quite the opposite actually. But this war has given me a purpose, one that I’m grateful for.” You sighed. “If you don’t mind me being candid Captain.”

Rex shook his head and you let out another breath. “I’m the only child, so there’s a lot of pressure on me to continue my family’s line. This war has let me take a break from that. They don’t bother me when I’m fighting a war. It’s selfish of me I know.”

“I think war is complicated.” Rex said. “I was created for this war. Without it, us clones wouldn’t exist. So we have to be grateful for the war because it allowed us to exist. But it’s all we’ve ever known and it’s hard to imagine life outside of war.”

“Have you?”

Rex turned towards you with a confused look on his face.

“Have you imagined life outside of the war?”

The Captain let out another heavy sigh, one that you understood better than most others. It was a sigh that carried unspoken burdens. One you released every time you spoke with your parents.

“I didn’t use to. It always felt so unobtainable. My only focus was the war and that was enough. But then I started to wonder if there was more to life than just fighting.”

“There is. There’s a whole galaxy out there. Food to try, people to meet, planets to explore. There’s so much hope out there and everyone should get an opportunity to experience, including you.” You said, tilting your head to look back at Rex. His gaze is intense and you felt your chest tighten. Your cheeks warmed and you forced your eyes to look back at your cold caf.

“Thank you.” Rex said. “That means a lot.”

You two lapsed into a comfortable silence, watching the last of the pinks and oranges of the sky fade into a deep, rich black, dotted with shimmering stars. The air feels colder. It could be the temperature dropping due to nightfall, or it could be your still damp clothes. Either way, you could feel the cold beginning to settle deep in your bones.

Rex noticed your body curling in on itself and bumped your shoulder with his. “Lets head back. It’s getting cold even for me.”

You appreciated Rex’s words and nodded. The two of you climb to your feel, your legs aching. You let out a quick sigh and take a step, only for your feet to slip out right from under you.

Your heart lunges into your throat as you become weightless for half a second, heading for a long trip down the slippery embankment towards the bubbling river.

You feel hands curl around your upper arms and you’re yanked in another direction. You hit something hard and then slam against the ground. Your chest aches as you try to work to control your breathing. You feel something move beside you.

It’s then that you realize it was Rex who had stopped you from tumbling into the river. His arms are wrapped tightly around you and you can feel his stuttering chest beneath yours. His eyes open and you see the moment he realizes the precarious situation you’ve found yourselves in. You feel his hands fist in your worn uniform at your lower back and it sends a shiver up your spine.

“Thank you.” The words tumble past your lips, but they come out a little breathier than you had hoped. 

“No problem.” He whispered, but didn’t make any moves to change the present situation. 

A small laugh escapes you and Rex’s eyes narrow. Your head tips forward and bumps against his shoulder pauldron, laughter beginning to bubble past your lips. Within moments, you’re laughing.

It’s been a hard day and the thought of nearly taking a surprise dip in a freezing river in front of the highest ranking clone in your battalion is just hilarious to you. You really do have terrible luck. You can feel Rex chuckling softly beneath you, the absurdity of the situation catching up with him as well. 

Eventually, your laughing fades and you relax. With a sigh, you lift up your head and go to slip off of poor Rex, but the tightening of his hands at your back stops you. You turn to look at him and see a strange look in his eyes, one you haven’t seen before.

Rex’s head moves forward in slow motion. You could have stopped him if you wanted. You could have said no if you wanted. But something inside of you hesitated. Something inside of you wanted to see what happened next.

It feels like it takes an eternity, time stretching until everything around you dulls. His lips brush tentatively against yours and you swear your heart stops beating. It’s tentative, slow, gentle in a way you’d never experienced before.

It ends far too soon.  
Rex’s eyes open slightly and you meet his eyes. “I’m sorry are you sure you-”

You don’t let him finish. 

You’d been waiting a long time for this. And you weren’t about to let this opportunity slip through your fingers.

You surged back against him, kissing him harder than he had initially. Rex gasped against you, but he didn’t seem to mind because his arms tightened around you. You shift your arms and slide your hands to either side of his face. He practically melts beneath you and you can’t help but smile.

You’d been around the clones long enough to know that they grew up without much loving contact. And there had always been a part of you that wished you could do something about it. Now you had a chance. 

Again, far too soon you are forced to pull away when there’s no air left in your lungs. Your forehead falls against Rex’s as your eyes search his face. His eyes remain closed as he just breathes. 

“Do you still think life after the war is unobtainable?” You whisper and he lets out a breath before opening his eyes.

Rex smiles. 

“Absolutely not.”

You grin back at him before leaning forward to kiss him again, which was very quickly becoming your favorite thing to do.

Life hasn't always been easy for you and the war was dragging you down with it. But Rex was always a guiding light for you. He made things a little easier. 

And now with him by your side, your future after the war didn’t seem so dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come visit me on tumblr @snippy-tano
> 
> Requests are open!


	35. Buried Feelings - Fives x Reader

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All rights to Disney and Lucasfilm.

Fives was really starting to get on your nerves.

Ever since that night at 79’s where you’d (apparently according to Echo) drunkenly confessed that you thought Fives was pretty cute he’d been _unbearable._

You really should have seen it coming. 

The moment he latched onto that there was no hope of him ever letting it go. 

It wasn’t even like you’d admitted any feelings towards him (although that was a secret you’d take to your grave if you had to), all you’d slurred was that he was the cutest. And ever since he’d been doing his best to “seduce” you as he put it. 

You weren’t really sure where he was going with it if you were being honest. 

Mostly you wanted to hold out from his horrid flirting and charm just to prove that you could be tougher than he was. And you’d told yourself that was what you’d do. You’d beat him. 

But a very small, insignificant part of you _wanted_ him to succeed. 

You wanted to be swept off your feet by the dashing ARC trooper. 

Kriff this was the worst.

It was torture really. 

You spent most of your day looking around corners and sparing glances behind you, waiting for Fives to magically appear with a smirk and a cheesy line dripping off his lips. At this point, you didn’t know if the desire to smack off his smile or to kiss it off was going to win.

You really didn’t want to know.

Focusing on your job aboard the _Resolute_ was enough to at least keep your mind mostly occupied. There were a lot of ships and droids that needed to be repaired, so you were constantly moving. It was easy for your mind to focus on your endless list of tasks rather than the suave trooper determined to break you. 

It was late in the hanger. A few troopers passed by with a wave in your direction as they passed on their rounds, but besides them, you were the only one around. Music echoed in the hanger, bouncing off the durasteel walls but still quiet enough that you could hear someone approaching.

Or at least that’s what you thought. 

“You come here often?”

You rolled your eyes, pushing your hands back in the engine of the ship you were working on. 

“We both know the answer to that question so I’m not sure why you’re asking.”

You heard him hum before he set down his bucket on a nearby crate. 

Surprisingly, he lapsed into silence. And you weren’t about to break. It was easier to ignore him and his insistence on flirting with you. It was easier to push aside the feeling bubbling just beneath the surface of your skin than to acknowledge that maybe, just maybe, you were starting to fall for Fives.

Regrettably, you finished what you were doing beneath the ship and needed to check the controls. Which meant that you’d be in Fives’ direct line of sight. Meaning you were about to get the full force of his flirting. 

You took a deep breath to steel yourself before pushing out from under the ship. As soon as you did, Fives was jumping off his perch on a nearby crate and striding towards you.

_Alright. Here we go. You can do this. Outlast him._

You grabbed your data pad and plugged it into a panel on the side of the ship. The electrical and mechanical read-outs started flashing across the screen and you used that as a grounding technique to ignore Fives who was hovering over your shoulder. 

“Got any plans for our shore leave?”

Your jaw clenched.

You knew this was coming.

The 501st had been granted a short shore leave on Coruscant after months abroad. Everyone onboard was over the moon and had obsessively been discussing their plans for days. You knew Fives was going to ask about yours and you also knew he was definitely going to ask you out. 

You just had to find the nerve to refuse. 

“Yes. I’m spending time with some friends.”

A lie.

Well, it wasn’t all a lie. You did plan on meeting up with a few friends while on leave. But that was going to be no more than an afternoon and maybe an evening. The truth be told, you fully intended on spending all day in your tiny apartment watching cheesy holo-dramas and eating all the junk food you could get your greasy hands on. 

You really missed food that wasn’t rations. 

And you intended on taking advantage of your time on Coruscant to stuff your face with as much food as you could. 

You’d undoubtedly make yourself sick, but it was a risk worth taking in your mind. 

“You should come out to 79’s with me and the boys.” Fives said and you grit your teeth. “It’s been a while and they enjoy spending time with you.”

_Oh. That’s actually kind of sweet._

“Plus you’d get to spend time with me and I’m the cutest.”

_There it is._

You rolled your eyes again before stalking away from the ship. You grabbed a tool and walked back to the ship, hauling yourself into the ship. 

“I’m busy.”

You started running tests from inside the lifted ship. Fives rested his arms on the bottom of the ship, watching as you moved around inside.

“Come on. You and I both know you plan on watching holo-films and eating junk food the entire time. You can spare one night for the boys.”

You hesitated. 

It annoyed you that he knew you so well. 

He probably knew you the best out of all of the men, besides maybe Kix who you saw frequently due to small accidents in the hanger. 

“I am not.”

Fives snorted. “Yes you are.”

_Kriff him._

You finished your checks and headed for the open door. Fives stepped back slightly as you took a seat on the edge of the ship to jump the last few remaining feet to the ground below you. 

But before you could jump, Fives stepped closer, offering his arms. 

You stared at him.

“Come on. You’re accident prone enough. Just let me help.”

He was right. 

And you hated it.

Turning to avoid his gaze, you reached forward and grasped his shoulders. Fives’ hands settled on your waist and you pushed off. Instead of hitting the ground hard, you landed gently with his help. 

It was a better alternative you had to admit.

Except for the small problem that you had basically landed _on Fives_. And he looked far too smug.

But you couldn’t really bring yourself to move. Instead you remained pinned by the very gaze you’d worked so hard to avoid. 

“Thanks.” You muttered and he grinned. 

“Always happy to help.”

But then neither of you moved. 

You’re not sure what kept you in place. Maybe it was the warmth radiating off of him or his intense gaze or the comforting feel of his hands on your waist. Either way, your brain was screaming at you to move, but your body refused to comply.

Fives moved closer and you instinctively took a step back. Another step. One more step.

Your back hit the edge of the ship and you swear you stopped breathing when Fives pressed even closer. Your heart was pounding in your chest and you wouldn’t be surprised if he could hear it over the soft music still playing from your radio. 

Fives’ eyes never left yours and you felt entirely frozen, unable to move. 

His head dipped down and everything slowed to a crawl. Separatists could attack and you wouldn’t care. The _Resolute_ could be thrown out of hyperspace and you wouldn’t even feel it.

His nose bumped against yours and you could feel your eyes begin to close on their own accord. His breath was puffing against your lips and it was intoxicating. 

Just as his lips brushed against yours, he stopped. 

Being this close to him and not actually kissing him was actually torture. 

Kriffing Fives.

“I’ll stop if you want me to. I’ll back off if you say the word.” He barely breathed, his lips grazing against yours with every word he spoke. 

This was it.

He was giving you an out.

He was giving you the very thing you’d been wishing for. He was offering a way out. He’d back off if you said the word.

Fives may be an incorrigible flirt and annoy you more than any other being in the Galaxy, but he was a man of his word. You knew that if you said no, he respected you enough to back off. 

And that made you want him that much more. 

“Please don’t stop.”

The grin that spread across his face when you spoke almost made you want to take it back. Almost. He’d be even worse now.

But when Fives pressed himself even closer, effectively pinning you against the side of the gunship, you forgot about how annoying he would be after this. 

In fact, the moment he actually kissed you, your entire mind went blank. 

You’re not sure what you expected when he kissed you. 

You’d be lying if you said you’d never thought about it. In fact, you probably thought about it enough that it’d be completely embarrassing if anyone (especially Fives) ever found out. But you hadn’t imagined it would be like this.

Fives was cocky but also a total dork. He had the worst pick-up lines you’d ever heard, but they always seemed to work because of his natural charm and how genuine he was. 

He was all talk and no bite.

But still. 

You’d expected something heavier, intense in a way. Maybe that was because you’d kept all of this pent up for way longer than was normal. 

You hadn’t expected Fives to just _melt._

Where you had imagined Fives to be firm and intense, he was gentle and smooth. He had inhaled the moment he made contact and it was like he never released that breath, instead sinking against you. Despite the slow nature of your first kiss with Fives, your stomach was flipping and your toes curled in your boots.

The moment your fingers wove into his hair was the moment that breath he’d been holding finally released, sending shivers across your skin. 

You’d just started falling into a rhythm when Fives pulled away. Your lips were tingling and you were far more out of breath than you had expected to be. His forehead thumped against yours and you searched his face. His eyes were shut and the normal wrinkles around his eyes were smooth. He was more relaxed than you’d ever seen him before.

Fives’ eyes fluttered open and you couldn’t help but smile at the look of pure joy and brightness twinkling in his eye. 

“You still want to turn down that drink?”

You couldn’t stop the snort that slipped past your lips. You naturally fell into an easy smile, laughing at his absurdity. 

Fives only looked happy, grinning at you like you’d hung the stars yourself. 

The easy smile you’d come to love spread across his face as he stepped back, picking up his bucket from the crate he’d left it on. He winked at you.

“Come out for drinks and maybe I’ll do that again.”

You rolled your eyes. “I’d like to see you try.”

With another dazzling smile that made your knees weak, Fives waved before turning and heading out of the hanger.

As he left, you pressed your shaking hand against your chest, feeling your heart pounding. 

Okay. He wins this round. 

But next time you’d come out on top. 

Of that you were sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come visit me on tumblr @snippy-tano
> 
> Requests are open!


	36. Undercover - Wolffe x Reader

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All rights to Disney and Lucasfilms!

You’re not entirely sure why you were chosen for this particular mission. 

You imagined you were picked because you were one of the few officers who kinda/sorta got along with Commander Wolffe. Your working relationship wasn’t even something super special, you two were friendly and Wolffe didn’t sneer when you would approach him.

Which to him was probably a glowing recommendation. 

But it did put a lot of pressure on you for this mission to succeed. 

And it definitely didn’t help when you found out you’d be going undercover as a married couple.

Someone was really out to get you. 

It shouldn’t be a big deal. You’d trained for this. You sat through so many training sessions about completely selling your cover. This should be easy. 

So why was your stomach knotting? 

You couldn’t afford to mess it up, so you pushed the strange feeling deep in your stomach aside and dove deep into learning your cover. This may not be ideal, but you’d be the best pretend-spouse you could be. 

The mission depended on it.

You could definitely do without the teasing though.

Waxer and Boil had been _unbearable._

Even more than usual. They were determined to cram in as much teasing as they could in the day or so before you both left for the mission. The pair of them finally backed off after you flipped Waxer over your shoulder in the mess in front of all his brothers.

Everyone seemed to back off after that.

Even Wolffe had seemed impressed, passing by a groaning Waxer on the floor with a comment about cleaning up their discarded meals you had knocked over when you flipped Waxer. 

It made you think that maybe, just maybe, you’d survive this mission. 

Of course as you were walking into the hotel you’d be staying at for your “honeymoon” with your hand in the crook of Wolffe’s arm, you started to think that maybe this was a bad idea. 

Wolffe looked uncomfortable in his civilian clothes, shifting with the collar as you walked. It may be a change of pace for him, but you couldn’t deny that it was a good look for him. 

Objectively speaking.

Your hand tightened against his arm. “Relax Wolffe. It’ll be fine.”

He huffed. “It’s itchy.”

“You just have to hold out a little longer. Once we’re in the room you can go back to being your gruff self. I promise.” You breathed. “Now loosen up. You’re about to start your honeymoon.”

Wolffe stiffened slightly, but quickly relaxed. You gave his arm one more reassuring squeeze before you both arrived at the front desk. 

You smiled at the twi’lek behind the counter and gave him your cover names. He seemed nice enough and it was easy to gush about how excited you were to spend your honeymoon here. Wolffe on the other hand was like a tightly wound ball of nerves beside you. Poor guy. 

“-we’re just excited for a break. I love my family but they can be suffocating sometimes. We’ve been looking forward to this for ages, haven’t we cyare?” 

Wolffe inhaled sharply through his nose, miraculously managing to plant a small smile on his face.

“Absolutely.”

You grinned at him before kissing him on the cheek. 

In all honesty, you didn’t think too hard about that before doing it. You had a part to play. And it had to be believable. 

The twi’lek handed you your room keys and wished you a lovely evening. You were quick to return the sentiment and drag Wolffe towards the lift. The doors shut in front of you and you let out a sigh, relaxing against the cool wall. 

“How are you holding up?” You asked, glancing over at Wolffe who looked even more stiff than before. Your heart twisted in your chest when you saw the faint darkening of his cheeks.

“Fine.” He choked out and you forced your eyes downward. 

_Maker, this was going to be a hard assignment._

The past two days had been rough. 

You spent most of the time bouncing around the city “seeing the sights” which was actually a cover for you to dig up some intel and make it seem like you’re actually on a honeymoon. 

Wolffe was still pretty out of it, but he was slowly getting the hang of being the other half of a couple. He even went as far to be the one to grab your hand on your walk back from lunch. It was getting easier.

Which you weren’t sure yet if that was a good thing or a bad thing. 

But it would all come down to tonight. 

The whole reason you were on this assignment was to get intel from an intelligence officer. The intel was going to be left at a predetermined location and time: tonight in an alley next to a restaurant. 

Should be easy.

You and Wolffe put on your fanciest clothes and headed out for a late dinner. 

It wasn’t until you were seated in a corner when you clocked them. 

A pair of Rodians who kept shooting glances in your direction. It was then that you remembered seeing them the day before. They’d been following you. 

After you both ordered, you moved your chair slightly closer towards Wolffe in the dimly lit restaurant. 

You angled your body towards him, plastering a smile on your face while your fingers played with his. “We’ve been made.”

Wolffe’s only reaction was a slight twitch of his fingers that he covered by intertwining your fingers. 

“The Rodians.” 

You nodded once before leaning closer until your lips brushed against his ear. “We’ll have to tread carefully.” 

Wolffe inhaled shakily before moving closer, wrapping his hands around yours as you rested your head against his shoulder. 

You spent the rest of the evening speaking quietly to each other, careful not to look at the table of Rodians and playing the part of a newly married couple flawlessly. You were both surprisingly good at it. 

The food at the restaurant was actually pretty good. Wolffe had his reservations about the mission, but you could tell he was really enjoying all the food he was getting to experience. It made playing a happy couple easier when you could laugh and enjoy his reactions to new food. His reaction to trying something mildly spicy had been a real treat.

Before you knew it, it was time for you to pick up the intel your contact left in the nearby alley.

After paying the bill, you slipped on your jacket with Wolffe’s help and gripped his hand as you left the restaurant. As you passed through the door, you turned to feign holding the door for Wolffe to see the Rodians getting up as well.

They really were bad at tailing. 

Your hand was wrapped tightly in Wolffe’s and a quick glance at him told you he was desperately trying to think of a way to lose your followers. You were coming up on the alley you were supposed to pick up the intel from.

You had to think of something and _fast._

With Wolffe’s hand still in yours, you gave him a tug, pulling him after you into the alley. When you were partially hidden by the shadows, you spun, wrapping your arms around his shoulders and tugging his head down. 

“We have to sell this. If they see us here they might leave.” You breathed against his ear, letting your body curve into his. “I trust you Wolffe.”

Wolffe’s hands moved to rest against your waist, fisting in the material. 

“I trust you too.” He whispered and you swear your heart stopped beating. 

That’s when he took you completely by surprise. 

Wolffe pushed against you, forcing you backwards. Your back hit the cool outer wall of the restaurant and you barely had time to prepare yourself before he was kissing you. 

Actually kissing you.

You felt like you were on fire as all of your nerve-endings lit up in a blaze. You wrapped your arms around his shoulders in a tighter hold, letting one hand tangle in his hair. Wolffe groaned against you and it was the single hottest thing you’ve ever heard.

His tongue teased the seam of your lips and you didn’t hesitate to let him in. His hands never stopped moving as he tried to claw himself even closer to you. 

This was your idea. 

You knew you had to act like a totally in love couple spending their honeymoon together. You knew what you were signing up for when you agreed to go on this mission. 

But still. 

You’re not entirely sure when kissing Wolffe went from keeping a cover to something else, but it was clear by the shivers spreading down your spine that it felt like more than just a cover. 

You wondered if he felt the same way. 

Without warning, Wolffe broke away from your lips, instead pressing his mouth along your jaw before trailing down. Naturally, your head shifted, giving him easier access which he seemed to appreciate if the tightening of his grip on your hips were any indication. 

His lips briefly trailed back up, hovering just below your ear. 

“They gone?” He gasped and you were thrown back into reality. 

You tightened your grip on his hair and let your eyes open halfway. There was no one at the mouth of the alley and judging by the shadows, there wasn’t anyone lurking around the corner. 

“Yes.” 

Wolffe let out a breath before letting his forehead fall against your shoulder. You closed your eyes tight as you tried to calm your frantically beating heart. At least Wolffe also seemed as out of breath as you were, his breath puffing against your bare skin.

It was enough for your nerves to flare up again. 

After what felt like an eternity, Wolffe straightened. You instantly felt cold at the lack of contact and shivered slightly. Wolffe was fussing with his mused collar and you didn’t think before you reached forward and helped him fix it. He froze, eyes fixed on you. 

“Let’s get the intel and head back. We leave early tomorrow morning.” You said, brushing your hand across his shoulder. You looked up at him, meeting his intense gaze. 

The air still felt electric, buzzing around the both of you. It was nearby voices that broke you away from whatever spell you were still under. You cleared your throat and stepped further into the alley, finding the data stick hidden under a fake brick. You quickly pocketed it, turning to face Wolffe. 

He grabbed your hand and together you walked out of the alley. The feel of his hand against yours felt different now. Something had changed now that you knew what it felt like to have those hands on you, exploring. 

You took a shaky breath. 

This was bad. 

_Really bad._

After you had returned to the rest of the 104th, things had still felt different. Thankfully General Plo hadn’t pushed for details when you had stated you had to avoid detection from some Rodians, which meant you didn’t have to tell him what had happened. But the feelings still hadn’t faded.

You weren’t sure they ever would. 

Because now you looked at Wolffe, standing across a table from you as they reviewed the intel you had gathered, and you only saw the man you’d gotten to know over those few days. The one whose face turned bright red when he had a spicy pepper by accident. Who actually enjoyed watching cheesy holo-dramas (although he said he’d deny it if you ever told anyone). Whose hands were rough but oh so gentle in a way you hadn’t expected. 

A man who’s kiss felt real. 

Wolffe must have felt your gaze on him because he looked up, meeting your eyes. It was like the rest of the room faded away, General Plo’s voice waning. 

You could feel the tension brewing as you felt flashes of that night in the alleyway, his touch still lingering. It was then that you saw a flicker of something in his eye. 

The corner of his mouth ticked up. 

You felt your insides warm. 

Maybe everything would be okay. Maybe things had changed permanently. 

But maybe that was how it was always meant to be. 

Wolffe had always been special to you and now that connection had only grown deeper. And you couldn’t wait to see what it grew into next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks for checking this out! Come visit me on tumblr @snippy-tano
> 
> My request box is open!!


	37. The End - Clone x Reader

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (this chapter is a little bit different a little more choose-your-own-adventure. you get to imagine whichever clone you chose! at least that's the idea. hopefully I pulled it off! also, the war ended, palps is gone gone, and everyone lived happily ever after, kay?)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All rights to Lucasfilms and Disney.
> 
> Plot is mine!

You were on Coruscant when the news broke. 

You’d never forget the sheer volume of everyone on the planet screaming in joy at the same moment, the immense sigh of relief felt across the planet, the overwhelming feeling that things had finally ended for good.

The details about what happened were still a little fuzzy, all news sources reporting minimal details that had been released by the Jedi Temple. Apparently the Chancellor had been assisting the Separatists all along, pulling strings and basically orchestrating the entire war. Honestly you’re not entirely sure what that means for the Senate or for the Republic in that the Chancellor was helping those you were fighting a war against, but frankly the sheer joy you felt knowing the war was over was overpowering. It was clear with the death of Count Dooku and the capture of General Grievous, the war was over.

The war was over.

_Finally over._

You’d just gotten off a double shift at the medcenter and wanted nothing more to take a shower and curl up in bed to sleep, but when the news alert popped up on your datapad moments after you’d kicked off your shoes and tossed your bag on your table, it was like none of that mattered. You’d stared at the report on your datapad, still not quite able to believe it. 

The noise that had erupted the moment the galaxy found out the war had finally ended had only continued, even after the initial shock had worn off. You could hear the cheering, the sounds of loud music and honking speeders as they drove by. You looked over at your bedroom, thinking about how desperately you wanted to sleep. But you hesitated.

Without thinking too much about it, you turned off your datapad, slipped your shoes back on, grabbed a jacket and headed out. 

You knew that if you didn’t experience this moment of pure euphoria the rest of the planet was that you’d regret it. Your shower and sleep could wait. 

Right now you needed to _feel._

The streets were packed, even more so than usual. People were cheering, hugging, dancing, and celebrating in the streets. It was like everything had come to a standstill. You couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across your face as you pushed through the dense crowd, every once in a while getting dragged into a loose waltz by a smiling twi’lek, or accepting a tight hug from a child, or sharing matching grins with anyone you met eyes with.

The war had ended. 

There was still a lot that was uncertain, like who would take over as Chancellor, just how deep his corruption was embedded in the Senate, and what this meant for the GAR. But that would come in the weeks and days that followed. Right now all anyone wanted to do was to celebrate the end of a war that had nearly torn the galaxy apart.

Speaking of the GAR, you could see a few Coruscant Guard troopers watching the crowds from beneath an awning; they had removed their helmets and were grinning. Even from a distance, you could see the few tears streaming down their faces. It caused your own heart to seize in your chest.

Maybe now they would finally be free.

Time seemed to slow down as you watched an older woman walk up to one of the troopers and drag him out into the crowd, much to the amusement of his fellow trooper, so he could dance with her. Warmth spread across your body as you watch them spin in lazy circles among the large crowds. He was laughing, gently spinning the older woman under his arm. 

It felt peaceful.

Your own mind began to wander. 

Specifically to your own trooper off fighting. Bumping into him was a total accident, but it changed your life for the better. You hadn’t expected to grow as close to him as you did, wishing for moments and chances to see him despite him serving in a war. A war that was now over. 

You wondered where he was.

It had been a few days since you’d talked with him. You hoped that he was celebrating too, getting to see the happiness that you were basking in. 

By some miracle, you felt your comm buzzing in your pocket. You pulled it out and smiled when you saw a familiar name.

“Hey you.” You said, bringing the comm unit close to your mouth. 

“Did you hear the news?”

You laughed. “How could I not? Where are you?”

There’s a pause and the crowd you’re in continues to cheer and dance around you.

“Turn around.”

Your heart stops.

In what felt like slow-motion, you turned, immediately locking eyes with him standing 20 meters away. His helmet is off and he looks tired, worn in a way that you can tell even from the distance that he looks dead on his feet. His armor is scuffed and dirty, but he looks relatively unharmed. You lock eyes with him and all your worry melts away. 

Before you knew what you were doing, you were running forward, pushing through the crowd. Your legs were shaking and you were muttering out a constant stream of apologies as you shoved your way towards _him._

And in the middle of a Coruscanti street not far from your apartment you collide with plastoid armor with enough force that all the air in your lungs leaves in a whoosh. You hold on with all you have, your arms wound tightly around his shoulders as you breathe him in. His arms snapped around your waist and you feel your feet leave the ground.

You squeeze your eyes shut, feeling your emotions bubbling just beneath your skin. His body is shaking beneath yours, like he can’t quite believe that he’s here, that it’s all over. And honestly you can’t really either. 

You bury your face in the side of his neck, holding on just a little bit tighter.

Your feet hit the ground and you loosen your grip just a bit. You pull back and place your hands on either side of his face, brushing a thumb under his shining eyes. 

He looks happy. Happier than you’d ever seen him before.

It’s on the tip of your tongue, asking why he’s here and how he managed to find you even in this crowd, but you never get to ask. Instead, he’s swooping down, capturing your lips in a kiss that steals all the air from your lungs. 

The rest of the world melts away around you, the roar of the crowd dulling until everything is muted and watered down. All you can focus on is the man in front of you. The man you love. The man who is finally free. 

Before this, you’d always been careful, avoiding being seen too much in public. It had nothing to do with your feelings for each other and everything to do with the worry of something happening to him due to him being a clone. But now? 

It really didn’t seem to matter. And you were planning on enjoying every last second of it as you dragged him closer, losing yourself in him.

It wasn’t until later, after the pair of you had finally made it back to your apartment, that you saw the picture splashed across the holonet. The blurred background of people crying and cheering, and front and center a medic wearing worn scrubs wrapped in the arms of a clone trooper as they kissed, confetti falling all around them.

Your face was blocked, so there was no real way to tell it was you and while his armor did kind of give him away, you two weren’t worried considering the size of his battalion and the fact that his brothers would never snitch. Things were changing. And things were looking up for once.

The war had ended. Your trooper was back, once again in your arms safe and hopefully soon to be free.

What more could you want?


	38. Run Away - Clone x Medic!Reader

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All rights to Lucasfilms and Disney!
> 
> Plot is mine!
> 
> This is my first attempt at a song fic, or at least including a song in the fic itself. The song is "Run Away" by Ben Platt. You're more than welcome to play it as you read (specifically starting it when the reader starts humming), but it's up to you!
> 
> This fic is also meant to be a bit ambiguous in terms of a specific clone. All that's specified is that they are part of the 501st. So imagine whoever you'd like!

Your shift had been a particularly hard one. 

The number of casualties had only continued to climb as the night dragged on and you were exhausted by the 8th straight hour of constant work. It felt like there was no end in sight.

Finally, late into the night, everything seemed to finally be under control. All of you could finally breathe.

A few of your fellow medics had slipped away to their quarters to get in a quick nap before all of your patients woke up. One or two even found a spare bedroll and collapsed between some of the beds since all of the beds were occupied by injured troopers. You had offered to stay on shift. 

Sure you were exhausted and wanted nothing more than to collapse into your ridiculously hard bed and sleep for days, but someone had to stick around. And you didn’t mind if it was you. If you could help your fellow medics, you’d do it in a heartbeat. 

And there you sat in the quiet, darkened medbay. You were quietly working on reports, trying to get a headstart on the mountain of flimsiwork you had set aside to dedicate your time helping those who were injured. It was a tedious process, but their charts needed to be updated.

It was well past 3AM when the door to the medbay slinked open. Your heart skipped a beat and you clamored to your feet as quietly as you could. Hopefully whoever was injured wasn’t too serious and didn’t require a bed, because there were none left.

Instead, when your eyes landed on the trooper, your heart began to slow. You let your eyes wander, scanning the dirty and scarred white armor with splashes of 501st blue. Then you shifted your gaze to the eyes of the trooper. They were tired, brimming with a barely contained rage and sorrow.

It was a feeling you knew well as a medic. 

The anger of not being able to do more and the sadness that came afterwards. It was powerful; always quick to drag you down into the deep waters until it was impossible to breathe. Grief and anger were powerful emotions, easy to lose control over. 

And you understood what he was feeling, more than most.

He looked lost, eyes swirling in that darkened place, barely on the cusp of drowning. And he came to you. 

It’s like he knew he’d find you here, the last medic standing. 

You offered him a small smile, picking up your datapad and motioning with your head for him to follow. You turned and walked deeper into the medbay, pulling up the cameras on your datapad so you could keep an eye on your patients. The only indication that he was following was the soft sounds of his boots clicking on the hard floor. 

You pulled out an extra bedroll and spread it out on the floor in the corner of the medbay. There weren’t as many beds in this area, so there would be a little bit of privacy. You sat down at the head of the bedroll, resting your back against the wall. You looked up at him, watching him shift uneasily on his feet. With another fond smile, you patted the soft material. 

He seemed to hesitate for half a second, but exhaustion and fear of his emotions must have won because he set down his helmet and crawled onto the bedroll next to you. He had looked at you with a strange look on his face when you gently tapped your lap, but with a soft glare, he obliged, resting his head in your lap. You propped your datapad up next to you, the cameras giving you a view of your patients and the main doors. 

He still seemed tense, his shoulders and head barely resting against you. You let out your own sigh before gently placing your hand against his head, beginning to card your fingers through his hair. 

His eyes fluttered closed and he breathed out deeply, relaxing heavily against you. His hand tightened just below your knee and his breathing began to even out. 

It was quiet. 

The only sounds were the steady breathing of the sleeping troopers and the quiet beeping of the machine monitoring them. It was peaceful in a way. A slice of tranquility in the harsh battles of war. 

“Can you sing to me?” 

His voice broke the silence, but it didn’t startle you. You continued to drag your fingers through his hair, beginning to hum softly.

It was a song your mother used to sing to you before bed. Times had been simpler then. You weren’t even aware you had remembered it until he asked you to sing; and it was the only thing that came to your mind. 

_“They met at school, that’s how it goes  
Some drinks and then a rose  
Then plans to meet again  
He wrote her poems, songs, and prose  
She knew that he’d propose  
She only wondered when.”_

It was still quiet. The breathing of the men and beeping of the machines your only accompaniment. He seemed to relax further into you, his thumb brushing against your knee.

_One night, before they went to bed  
He kneeled on both knees  
And this is what he said.  
‘I may not be wise  
And I won’t save the day  
But look in my eyes  
And know I’ll always stay  
And I won’t run away  
I won’t run away’”_

You heard some shifting nearby, but didn’t pay it any mind. Instead, you continued to drag your fingers through his hair.

_"Some years went by, they had a child  
He was funny, strange, and mild  
Their love for him ran deep  
Some nights, his dreams would drive him wild  
So into bed, she piled  
To help him fall asleep”_

You felt your own heart start to settle, your raging mind quieting with every verse. It was like you were a child again, tucked in your small bed with your mother’s arm wrapped around your shoulders. You could almost smell her faint perfume.

_“One night, he couldn’t get to bed  
So she kneeled on both knees  
And this is what she said  
‘I may not be wise  
And I won’t save the day  
But look in my eyes  
And know I’ll always stay  
And I won’t run away  
I won’t run away”_

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw a few of the men shift in their bed, turning in your direction. You smiled softly, feeling the trooper in your lap fall deeper against you. He was almost asleep.

You kept going.

_“You say it’s safer on your own  
You’d rather sleep alone  
Than grow to need me there  
But I hope now you can see  
What my mom and dad showed me  
I’m not going anywhere”_

You smiled down at him as he fell completely limp, finally asleep and free of the demons running through his mind. You continued to trace patterns through his hair, letting your voice drop.

_“I love you more and more each day  
To love is not to leave  
So, hear me when I say  
‘I may not be wise  
And I won’t save the day  
But look in my eyes  
And know I’ll always stay  
And I won’t run away  
I won’t run away'”_

And in that moment you made that promise. With the smell of disinfectant and dirt surrounding you. With the dim lighting of the medbay bathing you in shadows. With the sounds of troopers sleeping peacefully and the feeling of him, finally asleep, in your lap, you knew you’d never leave. You had found your place, your home. 

You’d never run away. You will _always_ stay.


	39. Tell Me - Rex x Reader

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All rights to Lucasfilms and Disney. Plot is mine!
> 
> This fic, like the previous chapter, is influenced by a song. This one is different in that the song inspired the fic in a way. The song is "Tell Me" by LEON.
> 
> This fic also takes place in the rebels era, so post-Order 66. If you haven't watched Rebels, there isn't much mentioned at all in his fic that would be considered spoiler-y. But I wanted to preface it anyway. Thanks friends!! I hope you enjoy it!!

You had joined the rebellion in its early stages, fighting against the Empire before you even knew there were others fighting the same battle you were. It had been an easy decision. 

You were used to war, used to fighting. You remembered the fall of the Republic like it was yesterday, nightmares about the day the galaxy was plunged into darkness still plaguing you. It took some time, but you found a purpose again with the rebellion. You had always been one to fight, to fight for those who could not fight for themselves.

While being with the rebellion meant you didn’t always know what to expect, you had never expected to run into a ghost from the past.

_**Tell me something, I just need to know** _

Seeing Rex had been a shock. 

You thought he’d died that day, an unknown casualty in a war that had already taken so many. But here he was. Older, but still the same man you’d fallen in love with all those years ago.

It had been an accident, falling in love with Rex. 

You’d been working a late shift at a diner on Coruscant. Clones were regulars considering you were just down the block from 79’s and had the best greasy food around. It’d been busy, like most nights. Rex had come in looking for some of his men who happened to be your loudest (and most fun) table. He’d apologized profusely to you, but it hadn’t been a big deal. His men had been kind to you, even in their hilariously drunken state.

Still, he wanted to make it up to you. And you weren’t one to say no to that.

And things had just progressed from there. 

It was easy to fall in love with Rex. 

Those feelings had never faded, even all these years later. You still loved him, completely, with your entire being.

So why was he pushing you away?

_**The reasons why we always stay together** _

It had been hard, spending all those years alone, fighting against the Empire. Never really knowing what had happened to the man you loved. Always pushing yourself just a little bit harder, knowing it was exactly what he would do. It was your own desire to help others and to live up to his name that kept you going, even when things looked bleak.

You never stopped fighting.

But now, to know that he was alive and he wanted nothing to do with you. That had hurt more than losing him in the first place.

When you saw him, it was like you could finally breathe again, see the sun peaking over the edge of the horizon. Only for the floor to disappear from beneath your feet, plunging you back into the darkness when he turned his back on you, condemning you to live, to fight, alone.

_**These memories won’t seem to let me go** _

Every time you caught a glimpse of him, his telltale armor and casual smirk would send you right back to fifteen years ago. Like how on your first date (aka his apology for you having to deal with his obnoxious men) you had gone out for dinner and a walk, only to get caught in the rain. 

It didn’t rain often on Coruscant, but when it did, it _poured_. 

You’d never forget his laughter peeling off the buildings around you as you forced him to dance with you in the empty streets, splashing in the puddles. It was peaceful, freeing in a way that you’d never experienced before.

It was the first time he’d kissed you, both soaking wet and freezing.

You’d never be able to forget that moment.

You wondered if he already had.

_**A part of you lives on in me forever** _

You never gave up on Rex. 

You couldn’t.

In the early days of the Empire, it was easier for you to hide, just do your best to live under an oppressive regime. It wasn’t easy in the slightest, but you felt like it was your only option. 

You also stayed in case Rex was alive. 

If he was alive, he’d know where to find you. 

If he was alive, he could come home to you.

But as the years passed, it became clear he was gone and you were on your own. So you saved up, then quit your job, and set out in the galaxy. It had been another accident finding a crew of people who hated the Empire just as you did and together you began a crusade to make things difficult for them and protect those who couldn’t protect themselves.

Rex had taught you that.

It was Rex who spurred you to fight for what you believed in. To give everything you had to protect others. 

You wondered now if that had all been a lie.

_**And darling, I admit sometimes** _

_**I wish that you would cross the line** _

You stood across from him at briefings, watching as he expertly maneuvered rebel forces and provided military insight to a ragtag group of beings doing their best to fight what many would consider a losing battle. 

You never got to see this side of him. The Captain Rex of the 501st was a part of Rex, but it wasn’t a side of him he ever showed around you. With you, he could be just Rex. And you knew he enjoyed that, getting to shed the title of Captain and just be a person, a man.

It was hard.

Being so close to him but feeling like he was so unbelievably far. 

More than anything you wanted him near you. Back in your arms after so many cold years apart.

_**Each time I try so very hard to hurt you** _

When it became clear Rex was trying his best to avoid you in every way, shape, and form, you found yourself beginning to retreat. 

It was easier to push away. Rex had been so far from you, gone for most of your life, what was a few more years? You’d already gone through the pain of losing him once. It killed you to do it again, but he was probably right.

Too much time had passed. 

It would be impossible to rekindle what you had all those years ago. You were both so different.

It was easier to push away.

But you could still feel your heart breaking.

_**Now give me just a reason to hold on** _

Like most of your encounters, bumping into Rex late one night on base had been an accident.

You’d once again been plagued by horrible dreams, reliving the moments you had lost Rex. When you’d woken up in a cold sweat, heart pounding, you knew you were never going to get back to sleep. So you’d pulled on your boots and your jacket and set out for some fresh air. 

It was when you were rounding a corner that you’d crashed right into Rex.

His hands had gripped your arms, stabilizing you and sending a blazing pain deep in your chest. He looked tired, dark bags lingering under his eyes. His golden eyes had flicked away from you and refused to return, instead purposefully looking anywhere but at you. 

“I’m sorry.” He breathed, releasing his hands from your arms. 

You felt cold.

He turned and began to walk away.

You spoke before you realized what was happening.

“I never stopped loving you.”

_**I’d like to think that some things last forever** _

He froze and you felt like you were going to throw up. Your hands were shaking and it felt like your heart was going to beat right out of your chest.

But you continued.

“There was never anyone else. There was only you.”

He wasn’t walking away, but he still hadn’t turned to face you. In fact, it looked like he’d stopped breathing.

“I joined the rebellion because of you. I wanted to fight for you, to bring down the thing that took you away from me.” You released a shaky breath. “I don’t know what happened to you over the last 15 years, but I don’t care. I don’t care that you’re older because I’ve gotten older too. You’re still Rex. You’re still the man I love, the one I never stopped loving. I can’t even begin to understand why you’ve been pushing me away, but it hurts more to know you’re so close and I can’t get closer. The day the Republic fell was hard, but the day I realized you were never coming back nearly broke me. I can’t live another day without telling you that nothing has changed for me. I still love you and I don’t think I’ll ever stop.”

You closed your eyes. “I just needed to tell you. I miss you Rex.”

_**Don’t let me go** _

After a few moments of silence, you let out another breath, turning to walk away.

“Wait.”

Rex’s voice was hoarse, but still him. It was a voice you’d recognize anywhere.

“I’ve done a lot of horrible things. You deserve someone better, someone younger.”

You felt white-hot anger flash across your features. “Kriff someone else! I want you Rex!”

Your eyes burned, your chest tightening.

Rex took a deep breath before turning, finally looking you in the eyes. His eyes were shimmering in the low light, glassy with unshed tears. His face looked softer, more relaxed.

“I never stopped loving you either.”

It was all you wanted to hear. 

You let out a choked sob and lurched forward. You stumbled, but Rex caught you like he always had. You gripped him like he would disappear if you weren’t careful. He still smelled the same, felt the same in your arms. 

He was different.

But so were you.

Both of you had gone through so much apart, but that was all behind you. Rex had come back into your life by some miracle, and you weren’t about to let him slip through your fingers that easily.

You lifted your head, looking up at him. His eyes were shining.

You brushed a thumb against his cheek and grinned up at him. Without much other thought, you pushed yourself forward, slanting your lips against his. 

He seemed startled at first, but melted almost immediately. 

It was like no time had passed. 

You were back in the love of your life’s arms and that’s all that mattered. You had Rex back. And you weren’t ever going to let him go. Never again.

**Author's Note:**

> visit me on tumblr @snippy-tano
> 
> requests are open!


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